I had a group of friends going for the Skies Over Michigan show they have running currently and I…read morewas debating between going vs taking a nap. Luckily I didn't have to choose between the two because the thing was a SNOOZEFEST (literally multiple of us fell asleep). What was particularly annoying about the show is that very little had to do with astrology and instead was heavily focused on Greek mythology, which is neat and all, but not at all what the name of the show implied or what you would expect to get at a planetarium. It was also bizarrely presented live (instead of a recording) and while the presenter was decent, he stumbled a few times. Seems super odd they wouldn't just have a well-run, recorded show. A couple positives: 1. The show ended with a rollercoaster ride immersive experience, which we all agreed was the best part 2. The gift shop is reasonably priced and you can get little souvenirs for as little as $0.50 (I know this because I did). Maybe our expectations were too high, but I definitely wouldn't recommend the planetarium based on our experience.

Who knew Flint had a planetarium? I sure didn't until recently. When we came up here to spend the…read moreweekend in Flint to check out stuff, I realized it was immediately next door to the Flint Art Museum and less then a mile from our hotel. Both John X and I were ecstatic to go see it! Admission isn't all that much, and is discounted if you live in Genesee County. Since neither of us do, I think it was $7 a person to see the shows. They have shows literally every hour on the hour, each with different themes throughout the day, and they seem to rotate them often and frequently. We got there after 5 PM and we couldn't remember which show was next. We initially wanted to see the skies over Michigan, but they only had a 3 PM showing which we weren't able to watch since we were busy doing other stuff. The show we ended up watching was about the James Webb Telescope that launches on Christmas eve and is supposed to be kind of a big deal. As professional nerds, we were very excited about this. Okay, maybe me more then anyone else, but space and science is cool. The guy who lead the 45 minute show gave us tons of info and really did a great explanation of the telescope and he even said he had a graduate degree, so obviously he knows his stuff about space. Very informative and well worth the time and money spent here. The seats in the auditorium are super comfy and lean all the way back, for optimal viewing experience. I will also say, try not to fall asleep during the show! It's just so relaxing and fun when here. I will say, they do have a great lobby area, but we were hoping for more museum stuff. It's more of a waiting area for the shows with some displays and such but not much else. You could stare at the stuff in all of about 15 minutes, so don't plan on spending much time doing that. What I do like about the Planetarium is that it's geared for all ages and not *just* to kids. They have kid shows I'm sure, but it was nice to have "adult time" and not have to tune out screaming children during a show. Definitely an all ages experience!

For a free museum, a great spot to learn about the beautiful peninsula and greater world about you…read more While most of the exhibit spaces were either closed or empty, the top floor had a litany of natural exhibits about native wildlife, current and now extinct, that roamed the wild. My favorite parts were the allosaurus skeleton and the giant globe that shared love data via an interactive touch screen. Definitely worth a visit, especially when school is in session and the exhibits are not in transition.

Deeply disappointing after the renovation. What happened to actual history and science? The idea…read morethat AI even deserves a full exhibit (predictably, centered on the African diaspora) is absurd. AI only does what you tell it to; who cares? Meanwhile, the actual nature and science is relegated to a room upstairs now. If this is the direction the university is going, I fear we may soon no longer even study science and history on university grounds at all. The globe with the projections on it for earthquakes and tsunamis is worth it, though.

This place has many different locations inside the campus…read more This was my first time visiting the planetarium. OMG the mineral exhibit is spectacular. Please make it a point to check them out online and in person the events hosted has a wonderful selection and the people attending are so nice.

This is an amazing space! There is a lot more to see and do that. I did not show, but this is a…read moreperfect place to take children (and adults) who love science. There are different exhibits with varying levels of hands on experiences. Check their website for days and hours I also found out they have a "Free First Friday" experience each month.

In the university, there are several museums is free to public. Those are students and teachers…read morecontributed result. This is two floors building. The collection is huge. The entrance is mammoth animal bones. The upper floor has pterosaurs with flying wing. The collection includes sea creatures, land animals and predators, small animals and more. The visit takes place 1.5 hours. But it has a lot to offer. Definitely is must visit museum in the university.

This is a fun FREE, family-friendly find!…read more I took my child here on a rainy day off school as an impromptu outing. We parked at the Palmer lot, which has free visitor parking, as well as permit parking if you have a blue (or gold) pass. The museum is easy to navigate and beautifully appointed. There's a little bit of everything, but no topic is too in-depth. So, if you're looking for a deep dive, this might not be the museum for you. My child love the "Please touch" signage, and this was a nice way to physically interact with the displays. We plan to return to see a show at the planetarium, which requires a ticket.

Over priced and nothing really there took grandkids there and what a waste of time and moneyread more

Wonderful small museum on Leila Arboretum campus! Knowledgeable staff and very friendly. The…read moreplanetarium was a pleasant surprise. Special thanks to Christine who went out of her way to show my son some dinosaur fossils and much more! Spend a few hours there and then walk the Arboretum grounds for a nice way to spend an afternoon.

They've really upped their game with the recent renovation…read more. The museum is beautiful, free for general admission to Genesee county residents- non residents so pay a small admission fee.. special attractions and installations do have a separate entry fee even for local residents, but the mini g displays are really lovely so it's worth it.. before the renovation I toured the Titanic display several years ago and it was brilliant!! They've put in new displays and cultural features and kept the old charm, too.. Lots of stuff for families particularly for children.. if you like local history, this charming museum is it! They have a nice gift shop and a Coffee Beanery and free wifi, too.. Centrally located in the heart of the city's cultural center so it's close to other local tourism spots and highlights like Whiting, FIA, the library, Flint Institute of Music, Buick Gallery, Flint Youth Theatre, Applewood and Longway Planetarium, and Whaley . I really like the improvements- it's definitely changed for the better.

It is not worth it for the money. You pay a general cost for the regular museum which could use…read moresome help as it is crowded in the children's hands on area and lackluster in the other areas. Then you have to pay extra for the special exhibit which is not noted on their website. For 4 adults and a 6 year old it was over $100 for a lack luster museum. Would rather spend my money in Detroit or Grand Rapids.

I thought "Free Museum Day" at Ella Sharp would be a nice treat. What a joke. First, I stopped by…read morethe gift shop to buy a little trinket for my grandbaby, but they don't even take cash. What kind of museum doesn't accept cash? Are we living in the future or something? The real disaster was trying to see the actual Ella Sharp house. There was a woman standing guard at the door who looked like she'd lost a fight with a highlighter her hair was the color of stale piss. She was clearly having a terrible day and decided to take it out on anyone with a baby. When I approached with my stroller, she huffed and puffed and snapped, "We're trying to limit strollers, so you can leave it with me." Excuse me? Leave my grandbaby with you? I don't even know you, lady, and based on your attitude, I wouldn't trust you to water a plant. Calm down, Stephanie Swift, you're a museum guide, not a prison warden. I wasn't asking to bring in a pack of wild dogs, just my sleeping grandchild. The whole experience left me wishing I'd just stayed home and saved myself the aggravation.

What a cool place to spend a couple of hours. On a whim we stopped to check out the the Sharp…read morefamily farm and view the art gallery they had on the property. The tour of the house was guided and it was just two of us and the guide. The guide had a wealth of knowledge and we appreciated what she had to say about the house and the Sharp family. One interesting and impressive fact, their well was inside the house. This way they didn't have to go out in Michigan winters to get their water. My daughter is a big fan of old homes especially Victorian style homes. While it's a Victorian style house it also had Italian influences in the structure. The art gallery had a World War I exhibit (100 year anniversary), sculptures and a quilt exhibit.

One of the few places in mid michigan that celebrates the world is astrophysics. It might be small…read morebut it is mighty, with the ability to pique young minds toward space. We saw a presentation on the planets in our solar system. Ages: two boys, 8 and 9 years old, two millennials (the parents), in their early and late 30s, and me, the grandmother. I was lucky enough to grow up in Denver where museums are ubiquitous and I made sure I did as much with my own kids as I could despite the economy doing a dive especially post 9/11. Still I understand the importance of exposing kids to interesting information, and the planetarium at Delta College did not disappoint! The show almost was a bit too long for younger kids but managed to end with a trip down the Great Wall of China that captured the kids' attention again. NOTE: people with balance issues may want to close their eyes for this one, which I am not ashamed to say I had to do for most of this part! But the kids loved the information and the theatrical presentation so Al was good! The gift shop wasn't too expensive so that too was good! I gave the boys $20 and they were able to buy a couple of things each. There was a scale where you can find your weight on all the planets in the solar system and that was also fun. Numerous photos of space and NASA journeys on the walls were amazing, and the spacesuit was neat to look at. The downside? Outside of the actual shows in the planetarium and the few items I described there wasn't a whole lot more. I'm hoping that may change in the future. I know times are tough economically but boy it would be nice for all these billionaires who are going into space like Branson, Bezos, and Musk to perhaps invest a bit of that money into finding science for kids in the US vis a vis museums around the country. It's not like they don't have the money! I might advise to bring enough money to see back to back shows, since as we were leaving there was another presentation getting ready to start that was on a different topic.

My husband and I the show about finding life on other planets. It was so breathtaking. We were very…read morehappy that the planetarium operator showed us the starts in the night sky too. If you are in town and looking for a wonderful way to spend an hour this is a great choice. Staff were all kind, helpful, and knowledgeable.

Great art museum in flint featuring top quality contemporary, classic, and modern art!…read more I was really impressed with the featured show as well as works from the permanent collection. They have art from different parts of the world as well... and its grouped by region.. and in some cases art movements. Very happy i got to check it out before my trip back home! An added bonus is that there is free admission on Saturdays!

I've been meaning to check out this art museum for a while, and finally had the chance to make it…read moreup here to see what all the excitement's about. Let me tell you, it was totally worth it! While it's no DIA, it actually is super cool. For starters, every Saturday is free admission thanks to Huntington Bank. If you don't come here on a Saturday, that's fine, admissions only like $10 which is super cool. Staff here was friendly and helpful, and we did the whole museum in about an hour and a half. They have plenty of cool artwork here and there's LOTS to see and do. What we loved about it was the different styles of art, and it wasn't just painting. Glass sculptures, a beautiful horse made out of wood, and a library! The library was cool but we didn't go in and check out any books. They also have a QR audio guide if you want additional info about the specific piece of art that you're viewing. Lots of modern art along with historic art from several hundred years ago. They also have a glass blowing section where you can watch artists make glass art forms and they have a person giving descriptions of what their doing and why. We watched for about 15 minutes and really enjoyed the experience. Worth watching and checking out. You don't get to see glass blowing all that often, so that was a lot of fun as well. There's a gift shop and a cafe here, which had a nice variety of products. We weren't hungry so we didn't eat anything especially since had lunch immediately before coming here. I would have stopped to have a coffee if I wanted, but we were not needing coffee or snacks so we passed. Art museums are always worth the trip and if you want a wonderful experience come check this place out. It's also immediately next door to the planetarium, so you can easily walk next door (as long as the weather is cooperative) and check that out as well. It's also across the street from the Sloan Museum but I think their still closed for remodeling from what I understand. Overall a really great day trip to come up and do. Easy to find and a lot of good fun for all!