Minneapolis on the cheap with kids

Big cities? They're expensive for traveling families, right? Not necessarily. In fact, often urban centers are the best places to find free and inexpensive things to do with kids. We found this was particularly the case in Minneapolis, where we recently stopped for a two-night stay on our Mississippi road trip. Here are seven things to do in this Minnesota city on the cheap with kids.
1) Slurp up a bowl of noodles at Jasmine Deli. This Vietnamese hole-in-the-wall makes up for its lack of atmosphere with tasty barbecue chicken sandwiches and steaming bowls of pho, chicken noodle soup. A family of four can eat here for $20.
2) Pick up picnic fixings at The Wedge. This food co-op is basically an indoor farmers market with piles of produce, most of it organic. Also, the deli stuffs everything from tofu to nitrate-free salami into sandwiches. The best picnic spot around may be at Hidden Falls Regional Park in neighboring St. Paul.
3) Ride the Como-Harriet Streetcar. The last bastion of the streetcar system runs between Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriett. It costs only $2.
4) Explore the Guthrie Theater. This architecture marvel rising above the Mississippi River is the place to see a play, but it also offers sweeping views of the area and lots of nooks and crannies for kids to explore. It's free to walk around.
5) Drive a virtual tugboat at the Minnesota Science Museum. It's all about hands-on exhibits at this science museum. Kids particularly like the Human Body Gallery and the the dinosaur lab in the Hall of Paleontology. Admission: free to $17.
6) Step inside (or outside) an art museum. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is always free and houses an amazing collection ranging from a 2,000-year-old mummy to works by European masters such as Rembrandt and Monet. The largest urban sculpture garden in the country surrounds the Walker Art Center and there's no fee to browse its works.
7) Stroll around Lake Harriet. Circle this lake at sunset and then head up the hill to Sebastian Joe's for ice cream (two scoops, of course).