CSE Reunion: Free time suggestions
While much has changed since your time on campus, the spirit of the College of Science and Engineering is more visible than ever! As you walk through the East Bank, we encourage you to take in the architectural evolution of our buildings from the outside. To maintain a focused and secure environment for today’s students and researchers, many academic buildings now require card access for entry. However, the exterior plazas, the Scholars Walk, and our public landmarks remain the best way to see how the U continues to grow. We’ve highlighted the best vantage points below!
The Gateway (Oak Street Area)
McNamara Alumni Center, Heritage Gallery
200 Oak Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414
For 40 years, University of Minnesota alumni longed for a building to call their own, one that would serve as a virtual “front door” for University visitors. In 1996, a volunteer committee of University staff and others selected internationally-renowned architect Antoine Predock of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to design the alumni center. Teamed with Minneapolis-based KKE Architects to facilitate the building’s design, Predock set out to reflect Minnesota’s natural assets — its 10,000 lakes, the North Shore, the Iron Range, the Northern Lights and more — in the forms, materials and design elements of the McNamara Alumni Center. Striking features include a pink granite-covered geode exterior with star-shaped glass fissures; an 85-foot tall Memorial Hall complete with six miles of wood lining its walls and a water stream and pool; and 75,000 square feet of copper cover exterior and interior walls. Construction began in March 1998 and in February 2000, the 231,000 square foot McNamara Alumni Center opened as a University office building and events center serving the University community, alumni, and the general public. Enter through the reconstructed Memorial Stadium archway to see the wall of books written by University alumni, faculty, staff, and students; and kiosks profiling famous people from the U’s past.
Physics and Nanotechnology Building
115 Union Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
The University launched a new era of excellence with the grand opening of this building in 2014. The facility hosts experimental physicists in about 40 new research laboratories. More than 5,000 square feet of new clean room space opened in the nanotechnology portion of the building, plus new labs for biological and nanomaterials research not found in any of the University's existing common-use nanotech labs. The Physics and Nanotechnology building allowed for the expansion of interdisciplinary research, as the University simply didn't have that space available in the past.
Shepherd Laboratories/Gemini-Huntley Robotics Research Laboratory)
100 Union Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Originally constructed in the late 1960s as the University’s Space Science Center—famously used to analyze lunar samples from the Apollo 11 mission—Shepherd Labs has been transformed into a premier interdisciplinary research hub through a multi-phase renovation completed in 2025. This facility now serves as a key pillar for the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, and the Minnesota Robotics Institute.
The first two floors serve as the home of the Gemini-Huntley Robotics Research Laboratory, a 20,000-square-foot facility featuring state-of-the-art labs, teaching spaces, and the first permanent workshop for the award-winning Solar Vehicle Project.
The final phase of the renovation, finished in 2025, expanded the building’s footprint to 45,000 square feet, modernizing the upper floors to house visual computing and human-centered AI programs. These floors also feature the Small Satellite Research Lab, where aerospace students and faculty design hardware for modern space exploration, continuing the building's historic legacy. Strategically nestled in the heart of the East Bank and connected to the campus Gopher Way tunnel system, the fully renovated Shepherd Labs provides a vibrant, flexible environment where robotics, aerospace, and data science converge to drive the next generation of technological innovation.
The Engineering Quad & Church Street
Scholars Walk
The Scholars Walk, a wide pathway featuring 40 bur oak trees and lighted monuments, celebrates the research and accomplishments of the U’s award-winning alumni, faculty and students, and for the first time provides a prominent, permanent memorial to those honored.
Lind Hall
207 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Known for many years as the Main Engineering Building, Lind Hall opened in September 1912. It marked an important era of growth in the college. The building was renamed in 1975 after Samuel Colville Lind, who served as the first dean of the College of Science and Engineering (formerly known as the Institute of Technology) from 1935-1947. Today, 100+ years later, Lind Hall is located on one of the most heavily traveled academic walkways in the state. Every CSE student visits the building multiple times each year. The 2012 renovation of the first floor of Lind Hall created a dynamic home base for College of Science and Engineering undergraduate students. In addition to offering a convenient “one-stop shop” for College of Science and Engineering Student Services, the project added study and meeting space, conference rooms, student group offices, a CSE Computer Lab, and even a Starbucks! Subsequent renovation of the basement, second, and third floors (completed in 2022) built a home for CSE's newest department, Industrial and Systems Engineering; added space for the Computer Science & Engineering department; and expanded teaching, collaboration, and research spaces critical to student success. Lind Hall's renovation and rebirth once again marks an important era of growth in the college.
Anderson Student Innovation Labs (largest lab located in Mechanical Engineering 2-134)
111 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
In fall 2016, the College of Science and Engineering opened three new Anderson Student Innovation Labs that help students turn their ideas into reality. The labs are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for student group projects, design and capstone course projects, and student entrepreneurs. The three new spaces add more than 10,000 square feet of hands-on learning space for students. The largest of the innovation labs is in the Mechanical Engineering Building and was designed primarily for prototyping. This space includes four laser cutters and 20 3D printers, making it the largest 3D printing facility on campus. The space also includes 12 large work benches, computer lab space, a tool lending library, and large assembly areas for mechanical and electrical projects. The other labs include a full complement of metal working tools, two computer-controlled milling machines, a computer-controlled lathe, and a waterjet cutter, as well as welding and woodworking tools.
John T. Tate Hall
116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
In fall 2017, the University of Minnesota completed major construction on a $92.5 million renovation of historic Tate Hall that includes state-of-the-art research labs, classrooms, offices, and public space for stargazing with a rooftop space open to classes and the public during astronomy outreach nights. The building is home to the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and School of Physics and Astronomy. About 5,000 students take classes in the building each semester. The building includes about 30 research labs, 20 teaching labs, and 10 general purpose classrooms. Other highlights include a new large auditorium that serves as a main location for classes and public events. A four-story atrium with skylight in the center of the building was added, and the historic rooftop observatory was restored and improved. One unique feature of the building is a public art installation by artist Catherine Widgery that doubles as a puzzle representing the academic disciplines housed in the building. The rock garden also includes the 2.7-billion-year-old Ely Greenstone mined in northern Minnesota.
Northrop Mall & The Historic Core
Northrop
84 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Northrop is an epicenter of discovery and transformation that connects the University of Minnesota and communities beyond by celebrating innovation in the arts, performance, and academics. After a three year renovation project, the revitalized Northrop reopened in 2014. Take a self-guided tour of the iconic building and see the results of the $88.2 million transformation.
Chemistry Undergraduate Teaching Labs at Fraser Hall
106 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Originally built in 1928 as the University’s law building, Fraser Hall underwent a massive $144.7 million reconstruction that was completed in September 2025. Now serving as the University’s premier Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory Facility, the 117,000-square-foot center was designed to modernize chemistry education for over 5,000 students annually. The project successfully preserved the historic brick and limestone facade facing Northrop Mall while adding a stunning, modern glass addition facing the river.
Inside, the facility features 18 state-of-the-art active learning laboratories—including the specialized Wayland E. Noland Organic Chemistry Floor—along with general-purpose classrooms and dedicated spaces for tutoring and informal collaboration. Serving students from more than 120 different majors, Fraser Hall consolidates general, life science, and organic chemistry into a single hub that emphasizes teamwork and hands-on discovery. The building is a brilliant example of how the University is blending its historic architectural roots with cutting-edge STEM infrastructure.
Walter Library
117 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Walter Library was built in 1922/23 and first opened to the public as the University of Minnesota's main library in 1924. Designed by architect Clarence Johnston and built at a cost of $1.4 million, the library was a very ornate and classical building with its stone and brick exterior, ornamental plaster ceilings, intricate woodwork, and state-of-the-art steel book stacks. Like its neighbors on Northrop Mall, it was built in the Roman Renaissance style of red brick and Bedford limestone trim, with a colonnaded portico. The renovation of Walter Library began in December 1999 and was completed in December 2002 at a cost of $63.4 million. The building now houses the Science & Engineering Library, Learning Resources Center, Digital Media Center, CSE Dean’s office, and the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute. Note the lobby ceiling and visit the second floor Great Hall to see some of the 225 owls in the building’s design.
Robert H. Bruininks Hall
222 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Bruininks Hall was unveiled on the banks of the Mississippi River at the University of Minnesota in 2010. It is the home to new technology-rich science classrooms, lecture halls and One Stop student services. From career services and veteran services to Active Learning Classrooms and state-of-the-art sustainability features, Bruininks Hall is a welcome addition to the University of Minnesota campus.
The Riverfront & Washington Ave
Coffman Memorial Union
300 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
A marriage between the old and the new, the high-tech and the high-style, Coffman Memorial Union reopened in 2003 after more than three years and $71 million in renovations. The rebuilt union is designed to satisfy the needs of students, with up-to-date services, as well as the desires of traditionalists, with a return to the building’s art deco origins. Stop by the Information Desk and ask for a tour or take a break and enjoy a beverage on the 4th floor Campus Club Terrace.Washington Avenue Light Rail
See how Washington Avenue has changed with the addition of a light rail line connecting downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis. The Green Line, which began taking riders in June 2014, carries an average of 45,000 riders per weekday.
Weisman Art Museum
333 East River Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Housed in a striking stainless steel and brick building designed by architect Frank Gehry, the Weisman Art Museum offers an educational and friendly museum experience. The museum’s collection features early twentieth-century American artists, such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Marsden Hartley, as well as a diverse selection of ceramics and contemporary art. A teaching museum for the University of Minnesota and the community, the Weisman provides a fresh, engaging arts experience through an array of programs and a changing schedule of exhibitions.
For more things to see in do at University of Minnesota and in the Twin Cities, check out this online Visitors Guide.