The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum in Michigan offers interactive exhibits on geology, music, mathematics, technology, physics, and astronomy. It also offers classes and programs for school-age children, and is housed in a converted fire station. The museum has grown to include 250 exhibits, including a MediaWorks exhibit, a solar collector exhibit, and a Nature Room. Additional programming includes overnight camps, scouting badge-focused programs, and a summer camp. Visitors can bring their own food or purchase items from the museum’s vending area. The museum offers free admission for children under 2 and group rates for 20 or more people.
The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum in Ann Arbor, Michigan offers family-friendly, interactive educational exhibits on topics such as geology, music, mathematics, technology, physics, and astronomy. This museum is located at 220 East Ann Street and is open seven days a week, with the exception of certain holidays. In addition to ongoing exhibits, the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum offers a wide variety of classes and programs for school-age children.
This non-profit museum, founded by Cynthia Yao in 1978, is housed primarily in a converted brick building that was once a fire station. In its first incarnation, which began with its grand opening in 1982, the museum employed a dedicated staff member who was assisted by fewer than a dozen volunteers. After seeing 25,000 visitors viewing 25 exhibits in that first year, the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum has grown dramatically to include 250 exhibits with interactive features. Some exhibits were funded by grants from the National Science Foundation.
Since its inception, this museum has provided a variety of interactive exhibits. Some examples include a MediaWorks exhibit that allows visiting children to play the role of a news anchor in a working television studio; a solar collector exhibit, demonstrating how to store and track solar energy through a visual monitor of water heated by the fire station’s solar panels; and a Nature Room that offers visitors a first-hand look at the metamorphosis of moths and butterflies. The children also got to enjoy hands-on exploration of a full-sized ambulance, as well as a preschool gallery available for very young children.
Additional programming offered regularly by the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum includes overnight camps, scouting badge-focused programs, and a summer camp for kindergarten or first graders. School groups can take a trip to the museum, participate in an outreach experience provided at their school by museum staff, or take advantage of remote learning opportunities using video conferencing. During the school year, on-site ScienceWorks labs are offered to school classes of up to 30 students, following Michigan’s educational content guidelines.
Visitors to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum can bring their own food or purchase items from the museum’s vending area on the first floor. This museum offers free admission for children under the age of 2, as well as group rates for 20 or more people. There is paid parking adjacent to the museum, with free parking available on Sundays. The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum can be booked for special events such as parties or receptions.
In addition to the Hands-On Museum, Ann Arbor has a variety of family-friendly museums to explore. Cobblestone Farm, the Kempf House Museum and the Museum on Main Street all feature recreations of historic life in the area. Other Ann Arbor museums focus on topics such as art history, dentistry, archeology and natural history.
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