U.P. Children’s Museum

Marquette MI. Visiting a new city can feel like a jungle. This feeling is not any different when coming to Marquette. Streets abuzz with locals, vehicles lining the roads, and a vast selection of stores and attractions to be explored. There is one location in particular that should be on your list of exploration; it’s educational, family friendly, and only a short walk from downtown!

Located on 123 W. Baraga Avenue is the UP Children’s Museum. Walk up the cobblestone path and enter through the doors. Inside you will find the Sprout Store. Here you can buy toys, memorabilia, and most importantly, your tickets for the new adventures awaiting inside.

After you trek up the stairs and out of the Sprout Store there are a multitude of exhibits that are not only fun for all ages, but are almost all educational. At the Museum there are tons of different exhibits where you can do things like driving a plane in the ‘Over the Air’ exhibit or learning and working on cars in the ‘Cloverland Car Garage’ Exhibit.

A total list of the exhibits includes ‘The World of Science and Nature’, ‘The Incredible Journey’, ‘Over the Air’, ‘Micro Society’, and the ‘Wonderground’ exhibit. Staff and volunteers are constantly updating and creating new exhibits as well.

A crowd favorite among the customers has to be the array of animals they have.  In one of the exhibits you can see bearded dragons, geckos, snakes, turtles, and iguanas! In fact, sometimes you can even get these reptiles out to handle and play with around the museum. These animals love the interaction and are very friendly towards the visitors.

One of the most unique things about all of these exhibits is that the fact that they were all designed by children. Groups of kids came into the spaces and were asked what they would like to see in this museum and how they would like it built. Workers at the museum call this process the “Design-asuarus.” This built by kids for kids concept makes the UP Children’s Museum truly unique in the area.

At the Museum, volunteers of all ages are always welcome and are free to help with whatever section desired. The staff is mostly volunteer based and adds to the experience of the Museum. They have people who come in and play guitar on some days and lead tea parties for the children.  They also have an extraordinary full-time staff that is there to ensure you have a great time and to field any questions you may have.

This is only the tip of the iceberg for the exhibits. There are plenty more things to see and adventures to be had in the Museum. Whether you are a young child or an adult going with your kids, the UP Children’s Museum will surely have something to make your imagination soar!

For more information you can visit their site here: U.P.Children’s Museum

by Chad Pajtas

Chad Pajtas is a senior at Northern Michigan University expected to graduate May 2015. He is majoring in Media Production and New Technology and has a minor in communication studies. On his spare time you will likely find him "pretending" he is good at golfing on the links or somewhere on a lake tossing a few lines into the water.