About
Location :
Added by Jopie, at 13 March 2017
Opening Hours
- Monday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Tuesday 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- Wednesday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Thursday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Saturday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Sunday 12:00 – 5:00 PM
Gallery
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15 Reviews
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07 December 2017
This museum has a very beautiful location with wonderful views of the river. The staff was helpful while still giving us space to explore at our own pace. I wish more cities had museums like this. My favorite part was the old time views of Grand Rapids from the past. Really gives you some perspective of the changes the city has gone through. I would recommend this place to children and adults alike!
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23 November 2017
Nice museum with lots of interesting things to explore. It is focused heavily on items related to the Grand Rapids Michigan area such as the furniture industry, local wildlife, local history and more. They have a really cool planetarium. They also get in various traveling exhibits. Most of the museum does not change much so the traveling exhibits keep you coming back.
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17 November 2017
I am a long time resident of Grand rapids and have been to the museum many times for a lot of their different exhibits. We recently went to the inside the brain exhibit and I found it cheap and poorly executed. However, I don't find this to be a reflection on the museum itself as the museum itself (the brain exhibit was put on by an outside company) is usually engaging and fun even as an adult. There are plenty of different exhibits to go to, some are older and more dated than others but all offer some knowledge. Would recommend.
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10 November 2017
Great place for couple, families, or just yourself. Fun all the way around. Very educational. The antique carousel that's refurbished to it's glory, for adults and kids to ride on. It's very enjoyable. Also I've been to the Grand Rapids Public Museum for a wedding reception which is absolutely gorgeous, fun, and creative place. Food, appetizers was delicious.
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06 November 2017
This place is great for families. Their planetarium is really fun and nice. They have a gift shop with a variety in items and prices. A lot is hands on so kids can interact, but there's enough for adults too for enjoyment. They have a carousel. Their cafe had a kids menu and all food is decently priced! The view from the cafe is beautiful. The parking lot is across the street so there is parking, but not attached to the museum. It's a great family experience!
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10 October 2017
We tried to visit on October 2 about noon. We found an RV on the street parking area, busses were there also, pulled our RV in an open area, security guy warned us we could not park without a permit, if we parked there it was "at our own risk" - could get a ticket. drove several blocks to be able to stop and call in for help. Tried your number several times, no answer, kept going to "voice mail". Finally gave up. We had 13 yr old grandson with us. He wanted to see the museum for educational reasons.
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06 October 2017
Very good building in fabulous location containing super recreation of old Grand Rapids. A charming, enthusiastic team of staff and volunteers. Eclectic collections with some truly great exhibits including a functional letterpress printing works and a fire engine ready to go. A delightful time machine into the evolution of this interesting midwestern city.
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01 September 2017
Really great experience! Nice and friendly staff. The mindbender mansion is really fun for everyone from adults to toddlers, even my teenage daughters had fun.. I would like to see a sports exhibit. West Michigan is rich in sport history, especially hockey.
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12 August 2017
FUN! I LOVE museums, and this was a great place to visit during our trip through Michigan. They have a fantastic room with puzzles (I think it's a few dollars more to enter), but it's well worth it. I could spend all day in that room. The people are all super friendly, and we moved at a pretty brisk pace, but you can play with the giant chess set, over sized Connect Four game, or just wander about learning random facts about a variety of topics. We did see the planetarium show which was based on MC Escher. This sounded really great, but I was somewhat disappointed. Truth be told, I slept through some of it. The seats are medium comfortable as you're not laying far enough back to be super comfy, but good enough to get a bit of rest.
Prices were good and we're members at our local museum, but I forgot to bring our cards. Don't make the same mistake. Bring your member cards along if you belong to another museum and see if you can get the discount.response / report this review -
25 July 2017
We took a 10 year old, two 14s, a 15 and a 16. They all had a blast. Great location, easy to find, but you do have to pay for parking unless you have a membership. Several varied exhibits cover many local and global issues. The mystery puzzle room was a blast, and the planetarium was a stand out. There is food at a cafe. It's simple and a bit pricey, but it tastes fine. We spent about four to five hours here and felt like we saw most of the museum. A fine day out.
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02 May 2017
Decent museum that is quite a bit bigger in the inside than it seems. There is a nice variety of exhibits, and a lot of information on the history of Grand Rapids. Don't come expecting tons of dinosaur bones however, and all the exhibits are pretty small. Good for kids though with plenty if interactive areas. The planetarium is also amazing and a definite must see, it is probably one of the main attractions.
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12 April 2017
I've been going to this museum for years. I absolutely love the exhibits. It has both local history in it, and world history. It has traveling exhibits that change every few months, and are often big attractions. Some days they the old shops being run by employees in period clothing to answer questions about the time period and particular trade and building. They care about education here.
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30 March 2017
Was not impressed. Definitely geared for children, which is great. However, they only have a small portion of exhibits compared to what they had at the old location years ago. Bigger, nicer building is all. Wanted to see all the beautiful antique furniture & beds they used to have--they no longer showcase them.
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28 March 2017
Our visit was in the afternoon on 3/25. We spent more than 90 minutes in line waiting to purchase tickets. There was only one person at the desk serving a line of at least 200 people, a line that was still at least that long when we left at 4pm, 1 hour before closing time. Yes, we could have purchased tickets ahead of time and avoided the really long line to wait in the somewhat shorter but still slow moving "members" line. But to have only 1 person handling general admissions was not good, at best. The pricing was OK, the exhibits were good, and overall it was a nice way to spend a cold and rainy Saturday but I can't say I will visit again and will not recommend it as a place to visit if this is what can be expected.
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20 March 2017
Great place to take your kids! We are members, so we can ride the carousel as many times as we like, we can go to planetarium shows for free. It's a great place to let the kids run around and experience something different. Plus we get in other museums at a discounted rate or free. The field museum and science & industry museum in Chicago are free because we are members. One trip to those and we've paid for our membership. 😀
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