Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
- July 17, 2006
- Rated 3 of 5 by
catronma from Nixa, Missouri
Great for kids, and fun for adults who feel a little silly too. There are at least a days worth of activities that will keep kids involved, can get a bit out of control with kids on the weekends. Also not very expensive.
From journal Ann Arbor, MI - Lifelong Resident
More museums than you have time for
- February 19, 2002
- Rated 4 of 5 by
goingy from Brooklyn, New York
The U-M Museum of Art is not the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but it's a fantastic little museum with pieces you naturally can't see anywhere else. It has displays from Japan, Africa -- but also an interesting modern collection and sometimes offbeat special exhibits. Check out the painting by Whistler called "Sea and Rain". Have you ever seen anything more lovely?
The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology is just steps from the art museum, and it's very small -- so if you're short on time, just stick your head in. The museum is housed in a pretty, old stone dormitory. It has beautiful wood floors and, upstairs, a beautiful stained glass window. It is, in short, a very nice place to quietly contemplate ancient greek and egyptian art.
Some of the exhibits at the natural history museum on geddes street look like they're from the 1950s, and they probably are. But, hey, it's got dinosaur bones and a stuffed wolverine! If you don't know much about Michigan, it's kind of nice to learn something about its geology and ecology and all that. If you don't like taxidermy, though, watch out.
A perpetual favorite is the ann arbor hands on museum -- a kids museum. It's not the best I've been to, by any means. But it's fun, great to catch up on basic basic scientific stuff and pick a fight with elementary schoolers.
From journal A-Squared
Editor Pick
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
- July 24, 2000
- Rated 4 of 5 by
Scott from Holland, Michigan
Leave your kids home. Don't bring your little sister. You won't want them dragging you away from the permanent shadow wall because they are tired or calling 'my turn!' just when you are getting a rhythm going on the giant plastic tube organ.
The Hands-On museum is housed in the old Ann Arbor fire station but has since expanded to almost four times its original size. There is a media room, a tech room, and a room full of psychology experiments. The museum is, of course set up for kids and there are special rooms for classes and field trip groups. But the beauty of this educational museum is the way it encourages creativity. You can bonk paddles on plastic tubes to play a symphony or a jumbled mess of notes. The displays seem to be set up for both pre-school kids and college students on psychedelics.
Saturday mornings and any day there is a third grade field trip can get really busy and you don't want to have to stand in line at the random sentence generator so get there early on weekdays. And if you see a big troop of name-tagged hand holders coming, shoot for another room for a while. It is a big place and there is plenty for everyone to see.
They are closed on Mondays and holidays, open 10-5 Tuesday through Saturday, and noon to five on Sunday. Go in with an open mind and remember you do have to get your hands on these exhibits to get anything out of them, so don't be shy.
From journal What About Ann Arbor?