Tag Archive for: things to do with kids
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 EGG-stravaganza!
Join us for EGG-stravaganza, a exploration of egg science and art! Friday, April 7th during all three sessions we will be exploring and learning about eggs at our special drop-in program.
How does a whole baby chick fit inside that tiny little egg? How can you tell the difference between a hardboiled egg and a raw egg without cracking into the shell? Visit our hands on science stations and see for yourself. Find out how to dye an egg shell with colors that swirl! Make an egg craft to take home.
Tickets are included in the price of admission; this program is an added experience that any Museum guest can drop into and out of during their time at the Great Lakes Children’s Museum.
New Year’s Countdown for Kids
GLCM’s New Year’s Countdown for Kids takes place on Saturday December 31, 2022 during All Sessions (9:30-11:30 / 12:00-2:00 / 2:30-4:30 pm)
This experience is FREE with Museum Admission ($8 for children and adults, free for members). Reservations Required! This event sells out!
Would you like to welcome in 2023 but can’t wait till midnight?
It’s midnight somewhere in the world! Countdown to 2023 with the Great Lakes Children’s Museum!
Watch the ball drop and make some noise! Fabulously fun New Year’s activities will take place all throughout each session.
The ball drop will happen ½ hour before each session ends. Activities will include decorating the ball, making noise makers and party hats and more!
Merry Mystery Sasquatch Search
Join the Merry Mystery Sasquatch Search!
Monday December 26th – Friday December 30th, all sessions
This experience is FREE with Museum Admission ($8 for children and adults, free for members).
Ever wonder if Bigfoot exists? Can you imagine seeing a Sasquatch? Believe it or not, the Great Lakes Children’s Museum is conducting a Merry Mystery Sasquatch Search this holiday season. Come with curiosity. Use sasquatch science to investigate and explore the mystery of Bigfoot. Have some fantastic fun following and making your own footprints. Ask questions: “If bigfoot is out there, what would he eat, where would he hide, what does he sound like?”
Find the answers to all your sasquatch questions.
The science is in the searching.
Tickets will be available for purchase the week of December 19th
(each day goes on sale a week ahead of time)
Boo Art Fest is back at the Great Lakes Children’s Museum!
Celebrate Halloween at the Great Lakes Children’s Museum’s 2nd annual Boo Art Fest! A Boo Art Fest is what you get when you mix Halloween with a boat load of orange and black paint and then add creative kids with squirt bottles, glue sticks, and paint brushes in hand. Come expecting to get messy! (You might want to save your costumes for Halloween night)
Painting the windows with a supersoaker at the 2021 Boo Art Fest.
Boo Art Fest takes place all day on Saturday, October 22nd. We will have three sessions to choose from, Morning (9:30-11:30), Noon (12:00-2:00), and Afternoon (2:30-4:30). Each session will have activities listed below – so get ready to take home some spooky arts and crafts!
Paint pee wee pumpkins
Paint your own unique pee wee pumpkin for some dazzling Halloween fun.
Spooky slap painting with rubber gloves
Using an “ooshie-gooshie” glove filled with water, you can slap paint a spooky hand scene.
Window squirt painting
Squirt paint all over our big outside window. Watch it drool and drip!
Mini Mac Mummy Wrap
Pop outside for a minute. Wrap and weave the Mini Mac in orange, black, and TP for Halloween.
Spider Spin Art
Spin a colorful web for a creepy crawly spider.
Trick Or Treat Bag decorating
Design and create your own Trick-or-Treat bag! A collection of awesome Halloween craft supplies are found in each bag.
Activities are free with admission to the Museum and available throughout each session.