Highly recommend! Whenever there's kids in town visiting we try to get them here (but equally…read moreenjoyable for adults too!). It's so fun to be hands on with the animals and the staff/volunteers are the nicest, answering all your random questions and telling you about the animals, but also giving you space if you don't feel like socializing.

This place is great. You can learn a lot about different animals, hands on. The staff is well…read moreinformed, and passionate about learning. It's free to go, so make sure to stop by their very reasonably priced gift shop and or leave a donation. Side note, I can't wait to go back. I want to snuggle their ferrets, and purchase some more of their cool science nerdy earrings!

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.

Bright walls organized another colorful festival this year between Sep 16-18. Bright Walls Mural…read morefestival event include live mural painting, concerts, food trucks, dancing, magic show and even a dog-themed event. While they were unable to host international artists this year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Bright Walls team planned some pop-up art installations until finale in 2022. The festival is a free event open to all ages, and it is held on several streets in Jackson. All the art is free to be viewed and photographed. Along with the mural projects, there were a variety of street vendors and food trucks that cater to the public. I was thrilled to attend my first ever mural event. I mainly went to meet the famous artist couple Lisa and Victor, who create iconic post card murals. I am a huge fan of their art work. The amount of detail in their mural is amazing. I like their artwork which captures the town and display local points of pride. It was such a pleasure to meet this cool couple. Their mission is to paint in every state and to create a collection of timeless landmarks for locals and travelers to interact with across the country. They have created nation wide mural projects and this is their 52nd post card mural across America. This couple came all the way from California to help create a special Jackson greeting. This year "Greetings from Jackson" mural is the highlight of the festival. Each letter features some of the most iconic buildings and a Jackson landmark within it. With the new addition, there are now 41 murals to see in downtown Jackson since the inception of Bright Walls.

Prior to three years ago I didn't know much about Jackson, MI beyond there being a prison there…read more Around here going to Jackson is usually taken to mean going to jail for a long time. Three years ago I stopped for food on a road trip and discovered Jackson had two competing Coney Islands on the same block that had been open since around the time of World War I, a situation uncannily similar to Lafayette and American Coney Islands in Detroit. That was about all I took away from that short visit. Well, last month I was on another road trip and figured I'd stop to fill my belly at Jackson Coney Island since I'd already tried Virginia Coney Island and Jackson is the bizarro Virginia. I'm not ready to review either yet. They're just Coneys and I'm not ready to wade into the wearisome partisan debate. It's boring enough with American and Lafayette back home. But here, in the third paragraph, I will venture to review Bright Walls because it was such a pleasant surprise and unexpected hour long sightseeing tour. (It's nice traveling on a not so rigid schedule and to be taken away on a tangent like this.) Bold, colorful murals with all kinds of themes and plastered larger than life all around downtown Jackson and they are awesome. I wasn't good about reading all of the placards and you won't get any informative name checking or discussion about specific pieces here like I usually do with art museums but Bright Walls was a beautiful diversion, a definite departure from the drab and dreary Prisontown USA people around here usually picture when they think of Jackson. I can't speak on what goes on when the mural painting actually takes place, watching live painting or if there's special events, but the one other review didn't elaborate on that either. Suffice it to say I like what was left behind. Maybe some year I'll head out this way during the brightening of the walls and be able to provide a more comprehensive update.

Jackson County in many ways is an enigmatic community. Economically, they have not been in the best…read moreof positions for many years. The population actually peaked in 2010 and has fallen slightly by about 0.3% since then estimated at just under 160,000. The county has been slow to grow in recent times as it has not experienced double digit growth over the course of a decade since the 1950s. It does not seem to attract large business as the six largest employers are various government functions (state corrections, local governments and schools), utilities and medical care. The unemployment rate in the county is slightly above state average, the average income is slightly below state average and the housing prices are largely flat relative to 2000. There are three (one public, two private) post-secondary institutions classified as colleges or universities. The number of persons holding a bachelor's degree or higher among eligible adults is more than 1/4 less than the national percentage. The county seat is Jackson which is a small city of about 33,000, or slightly more than 20% of the county population. Jackson has standard commercial offerings with a small mall. There are a few parks highlighted by Ella Sharp Park which features an annual balloon race. The claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of the Republican Party. The county is largely rural and is very laid back. There is plenty of open space and many back roads to drive in relative solitude. The Amtrak Wolverine Line runs through the City of Jackson on its route between Chicago and Detroit. The train station is actually very nostalgic and lovely. There is an airport west of the City of Jackson that had commercial service until 1984. It has since served only as a General Aviation Facility. Generally speaking, this is a relatively uninteresting place to visit unless you like to observe Midwest and Michigan cultural life. There are no marquis sites to see although there is a new Prison Museum that opened a little over a year ago that might have some promise to allow Jackson County to claim a noteworthy site for visitors. It would be a slow-and-easy place to live, however. The average commute time to work is about 18 minutes and the home prices are very reasonable though you won't see much increase in your investment. It is one of those counties in the US that easily gets overlooked.

We love the Jackson Symphony Orchestra - especially their Christmas Special- the Nutcracker. It's…read morebeen a longstanding tradition in our house to go see a performance of the Nutcracker a few weeks before Christmas by Chelsea Ballet. They have yummy snacks (usually even a gluten free option) at intermission. The Sugarplum tea is every little girl in a tutu's dream too! If you are in the fence- go! It's a blast. We not made it to any other shows, but I'm looking forward to trying out their pops shows like Harry Potter or their Halloween special where kids dress up and attend for low cost. Thanks JSO for the great shows locally!!

I tried to hand in my used syringes to have my potholes filled and they refused to accept them. I…read moreoffered my used condoms and was told they aren't currently accepting them as payment for fine's. I also tried to submit my collage of phalluses and the lady looked at me like I was insane. She promptly told me to leave and I screamed at the top of my lungs "Am I being detained"?!?!?! Needless to say they escorted me out of the building.

Great place to have a drink. Wife had the sangria and I had…read morethe strawberry wine slush. Very good. The staff are always really nice and helpful. One thing, if you're getting a snack get the more expensive charcuterie boards. They are much nicer than the el cheapo that I got. It was good but not a lot. The rest of the menu looks good. The place is clean and spacious. We sat outside as it was a beautiful day. The goats were pretty cool too.

Great wine and they have a little restaurant area with some popcorn and deli sandwiches. Very…read morepleasant and relaxing atmosphere. Recommend sitting outside if it's nice. You got a terrific view of the vineyards.

Though it's small, it has everything in a compact space: lounge area, private tables, free DVDs to…read moreborrow, graphic novels, public computers, etc. Everything was arranged in a nice, clean, organized layout that works and doesn't feel crowded but utilizes the space and area effectively. It was hard to find at first but they do have restrooms, small but clean. They also had activities and calendar of events showing that it is an active library. The people working here were very friendly and accommodating, ready to help. I've come here to study and this small library has much to offer. Great for families and people of all ages.

They have really fast computers and enough to serve the community. Although some of the patrons are…read morevery talkative and loud, I was able to get some work done.

There movies are great for renting out, except the fact they don't clean them and I ended up having…read moreto clean them and take better care of them then they do. I understand many people Rent out these dvds, and they get used a lot. What this means is Clean them better and care for them better. Change out old dvds for new ones, so that people can enjoy the movie without it pausing many times, so stopping mid show and not continuing on.