Tag Archive for: fun
Join us for the 2024 Festival of Trains!
The 2024 Festival of Trains is here!
Join us for the 2024 Festival of Trains! The Northern Michigan Railroad Club, the Great Lakes Children’s Museum, and Creekside Community Church are pleased to announce the 2024 Festival of Trains. The Festival starts December 21 and runs through December 31 at the Creekside Community Church (3686 W South Airport Rd, Traverse City, MI 49684).
Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm, Sunday, 1pm to 4 pm with special hours of 10 am to 4 pm on December 24 and December 31. The Festival will be closed on December 25.
Admission is $6 per person for everyone 5 and up – 4 and under free! Or buy a $30 Festival Pass and bring your family of up to 5 free each day the festival is open.
Saturdays and Sundays the NMRRC will host their annual swap meet as part of the event. The swap meet is the perfect place to pick up a few odds and ends for that train set you’ve got stored away, or when it’s time to lay down the tracks with the next generation. If you’d like to sell at the swap meet, reserve a table ($20) by calling 218-7563.
The Festival of Trains takes place in the gymnasium at Creekside Community Church and fills it wall-to-wall with tables of trainsets. Modern and antique trains travel around the tracks, tended by Engineers from the Northern Michigan RailRoad Club (NMRRC). The engineers have set up interactive buttons so even the youngest engineers visiting the Festival can control a part of the action.
Volunteers are needed for all days. Information on volunteering and an online sign up can also be found on our volunteering page.
All funds go to the Rail Road Club, Church, and Children’s Museum to fund their operations as 501c3 charities.
Don’t miss Santa’s Visit on the first day of the festival – December 21 from 1pm to 3pm! Join us for the 2024 Festival of Trains! This holiday season you’ve got a ticket to fun – all aboard the festival of trains! Choo! Choo!
Join us for Water Safety Day!
The Great Lakes Children’s Museum is proud to present Water Safety Day 2023; an event promoting being safe while enjoying the Greatest thing about the Great Lakes; Water! The Great Lakes can be dangerous, but by learning a little water safety, we can play in, on, and around water in a safer way! Let’s talk about safety in a fun – not scary – way so we can enjoy the Great Lakes together!
Join us for Water Safety Day May 20th, 2023 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm!
This event is FREE and open to the public! Water Safety Day will take place right outside the Great Lakes Children’s Museum, which will still be open for General Admission (we suggest a reservation if you want to play in the Museum). But stop by the fun on your way into the Museum to learn how to be safe on the water from these amazing partners:
Help us make a SPLASH at this first-annual water safety event at the Great Lakes Children’s Museum. In addition to all the fun you can always find at Discovery Pier and Elmwood Township Park like fishing, watching the tall ships, and playing at the beach, we will have several fun safety stations set up on the West side of M-22.
Lots to do!
You can learn about different types of lifejackets and how to wear them, run ‘sinking boat’ drills, attend a beach safety class with America’s Boating Club, take the PFD Quiz to get a FREE LIFEJACKET donated by Long Lake Marina, learn about swim safety and CPR with the Red Cross, see the Elmwood Fire Department Rescue Boat and Ambulance up close*, and learn about more ways to stay safe in, on, and around the water!
America’s Boating Club will demonstrate why water safety is so important: we are surrounded by water and drowning is a leading cause of death of children. But we can play safely in the water! We will learn:
- How to wear a lifejacket—Linda Lifejacket will show you all the features of hers.
- What is the difference between a toy and a lifejacket.
- What your child looks like when in trouble in the water—and what they look like when wearing a lifejacket.
- What the animals teach us about water safety; turtles, birds, sea otter.
- Why you should always wear a lifejacket on a boat; four good reasons.
- We will have the kids do a “sinking boat” drill to learn the importance of knowing where lifejackets are and how to put them on.
- We will set up and conduct the Boating Quiz. When the kids complete the quiz they will get a new free lifejacket courtesy of Long Lake Marine.
- We will show parents how to be “WATER WATCHERS” and how to throw ring buoys and help someone in trouble in the water.
At about 11:30 am, watch the Coast Guard run a recovery drill* where they will drop a rescue diver in the water at Elmwood Beach and recover the diver before they fly on home! Make sure to get there before 11:30 to see the Helicopter rescue drill! 
*Barring any emergencies that require the attention of our Emergency Services.
You don’t need an RSVP, Ticket, or Special Invitation to attend! Everyone is welcome to join us for Water Safety Day!