Join us for a day with children’s book author/illustrator and local talent Nancy Carlson, whose endearing characters—bunnies, mice, pigs, frogs, and dogs, to name a few—tickle the funny bone of children and their parents while teaching about honesty, determination, and self-confidence. Discover paths through the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden designed to have you reading and exercising along the way. Visit Optum at Open Field to learn a few tips for healthy living.

Gallery admission is free for everyone on the first Saturday of each month from 10 am to 5 pm, with a variety of family activities scheduled from 10 am to 3 pm.

Story Time with Nancy Carlson, 10:30 and 11:30 am, 12:30 pm

Open Field
Join local author and illustrator Nancy Carlson for some laughs and giggles as she reads some of her favorite books and shares the secrets of drawing animal characters.

Art Activity: Book-Making, 10 am–3 pm

Open Field
Join guests from the Minnesota Center for Book Arts to make a quick and easy journal using sticks for the binding. What you put in it is totally up to you!

Get Up and Read, 10 am–3 pm

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Kids will take a walk through the Garden. Along the way, they’ll find pages from Nancy Carlson books as well as drawings and doodles that suggest physical activities ranging from jumping rope to dancing to wandering in the woods.

Make Your Own Trail Mix, 10 am–1 pm

Open Field
Learn how to make a healthy snack mix using nutritionally beneficial food with a registered dietician from Optum™.