Kid-Friendly Minnesota Conventions for Your Geekling in 2020

If you have some young geeklings around, you may have considered finding a convention to attend as a family. Here’s the good news: the vast majority of the sci-fi, anime, and pop-culture cons in the Twin Cities welcome families, offering discounted and/or free admission for younger attendees and marking panels meant only for older audiences to prevent sudden surprises.

However, just because a convention touts itself as being family friendly and offers a lower rate for kids doesn’t always make it truly ideal for a family. Kids and teenagers have different needs than adults. Most people need some downtime at conventions, for example; when there’s a space meant for smaller geeks, it makes it more pleasant for everyone (including fellow attendees). These rooms may have scheduled events, such as crafts, STEM activities, movies, or video-game tournaments, but they also usually include an open sandbox element. They may even also provide a space to take care of the younger geeks, offering a place for diaper changes, feedings, and naps or a place for expressing milk.

So, which cons are more truly kid friendly than others? The conventions on this list all have some element (beyond discounted admission) that is specifically focused on younger fans. As always, every kid is incredibly unique—your geekling may be perfectly happy attending panels for an entire weekend. Their favorite con may not be included on this list.

Be sure to check out our guide on bringing your kid(s) to a convention—and if you’re still on the fence about bringing them at all, see “Should I Bring My Child to a Convention?”

Two geeklings playing with Minecraft boxes at CONvergence 2019. Rae Black

Winter

Con of the North (February 14–16)
Plymouth, MN
Kid-friendly features: Kid-only game events

MarsCon (February 28–March 1, 2020)
Bloomington, MN
Kid-friendly features: Youth room with youth-oriented programming

VGM Con (March 6–8, 2020)
Minnetonka, MN
Kid-friendly features: Previous years have featured a Strings Clinic designed for middle-school youth (but open to all ages); information is still pending for 2020

Spring

Minicon (April 10–12, 2020)
St. Louis Park, MN
Kid-friendly features: Youth room with youth-oriented programming, teen room

Teen Lit Con (April 25, 2020)
Mendota Heights, MN
Kid-friendly features: Teen-oriented convention

MSP SpringCon (May 16–17, 2020)
Roseville, MN
Kid-friendly features: Youth-oriented activities, children’s costume contest for kids under 12 on Saturday

A small Pokémon trainer enjoys some creative downtime at Anime Fusion 2019. Rae Black

Summer

CONvergence (August 20–23, 2020)
Minneapolis, MN
Kid-friendly features: Teen room, parenting room, kid-friendly space in the Sandbox

Autumn

Midwest Comic Book Association FallCon (TBA; usually October)
Roseville, MN
Kid-friendly features: Youth-oriented activities

Anime Fusion (October 16–18, 2020)
Plymouth, MN
Kid-friendly features: Family room

GalaxyCon (November 6–8, 2020)
Minneapolis, MN
Kid-friendly features: Kids’ cosplay contest for kids ages 13 and under

We hope to see you at one of these cons in 2020! Of course, if we missed any, please email us or let us know in the comments below so we can add them to our list. (We also recommend adding them to our free community calendar.)