This Michigan Children’s Museum Is a Must-Do Summer Activity To Beat the Heat

I love the bright sunny days of summer, but when the heat and humidity top out in July and August, even I'm ready for a break. It's a great time of year to visit a new museum; the air conditioning is a welcome respite from the high outdoor temperatures. My family recently visited the Grand Rapids Children's Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and it was the perfect summer activity to beat the heat.

Together, five founders first opened the Grand Rapids Children's Museum in 1993 with two exhibits in the Woodland Mall. After a successful capital campaign and donation of the building, it moved to its current downtown location on Sheldon Avenue in 1997 and established a permanent home. It celebrated 20 years of success in 2017, and to commemorate the occasion, the city's mayor designated July 31 as the annual "Grand Rapids Day of Play." The museum has many engaging, interactive exhibits for kids and kids at heart to enjoy, including The Spin Zone, Little GR, Legos, Bubbles, Beehive, and Train Table.

My family walked into the museum on a hot and humid afternoon, and were greeted by a friendly employee. Because we have an annual membership at a museum in our home state, we received a discounted admission rate through the ACM Reciprocal Network. We started on the first floor in The Spin Zone, where we spun balls and round wooden disks on tiered circular tables. There was also Little GR, an exhibit featuring an interactive store with food, a conveyor belt, a cash register, and more. It had everything you could think of for amazing pretend play.

Upstairs, we spent a lot of time watching the bees in the Beehive work. They flew into the hive through a tube outside the building. Dozens of bees worked in the hive, which had clear walls, allowing visitors to watch them up close.

The Bubbles exhibit was also a huge hit. Wide vats of bubble mix held metal bubble wands. When you slowly picked up the wand from the bubble mixture, it created long tubular bubbles. As you can imagine, this delighted visitors of all ages.

One of the coolest exhibits, in my opinion, was a pretend play veterinarian office, complete with a wall of crates to house all types of animals. There were adorable stuffed animals to match the labels on the crates. Kids could pull out the animals, examine them with pretend medical tools, and more.

The Train Table exhibit was an expansive wooden table holding movable train tracks, bridges, buildings, and vehicles. Kids who love transportation will have a heyday here. While these exhibits kept us fully entertained for an afternoon, there were even more to enjoy, including a puppet theater, Lego building station, and a wooden block building area. The museum store also had incredible toys, many of which I thought would make fantastic gifts.

For more information, visit the Grand Rapids Children's Museum's website and Facebook page.

Grand Rapids offers other indoor activities perfect for beating the scorching heat. Craig's Cruisers is a family-operated indoor amusement park in Grand Rapids with plenty of fun activities. Big Mini Putt Club is a new attraction we can't wait to visit, featuring an indoor nine-hole mini golf course; it partners with its next-door neighbor, Luna, to provide guests with delicious Mexican food.

If you're interested in planning a getaway to Grand Rapids, consider booking a stay at the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Grand Rapids East. This hotel has an indoor swimming pool and fitness center, and serves a hot breakfast every morning.