I have grown up immersed in all things MSU and am a proud alum. Today I planned a daytrip with my middleschool aged granddaughters to spend half the day immersed in the MSU museum. My disappointment soon turned into absolute disbelief. Our amazing little gem of a museum has closeted all of the relics of history and turned itself into a highly politicized batch of current event science immersions.......bizarre and so very very Alice In Wonderland-ish......... read more

The reopening party was awesome, and the new exhibition about aritificial intelligence and mis/disinformation is amazing!! Perfect for college students and young adults! read more

Nice cute museum on the MSU campus. They have some cool fossils and taxidermies. Most of the museum is animal focused, and is pretty fun for small children. The museum is fairly small, and probably takes less than an hour to appreciate the whole thing. Nothing spectacular but a fun place to visit at least once. read more

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This museum was bigger than I expected. They have a nice evolution section and some pretty impressive dinosaur skeletons. I guess that coming from DC, nothing can surpass the Natural History museum there. I liked the 10'5" brown bear they have on display. I would not want to see that if I were camping up north. There were no special events going on when I was there. After all, I guess students are pretty scarce on MSU's campus in the summer. There were probably only about ten other people in the place. Admission is free, but be warned... no A/C!! It was pretty hot in there. I hope they had lots of fans during the chocolate event that Karen B. mentioned, or there really might of been a Willy Wonka-like river running through the place! read more

MSU Museum - Museums Near Me - East Lansing, Michigan

This is a terrific small museum. What I love about small museums is that you can see the whole place and then circle back to see your favorites again. We drove 3.5 hours to come here and returned all in the same day. Why, you might ask? Because of the exhibit based on their book, Quilts and Human Rights. I loved that book, I had to put my eyeballs in the same room with these exquisite quilts. The exhibit was very small, 20 quilts, but worth the drive. There were post it notes available to write your responses on and stations for kids to draw. These kinds of stations were terrific for the kids and found throughout all the rooms. My daughter and two grandchildren came along for the ride and the kids loved the dinosaurs and animal exhibits. The small but mighty gift shop had books and finger puppets which both of them adored. Great bathrooms, friendly staff and wheelchair access door plus elevators for the double stroller. What more could you ask for? Well, now that you ask, air conditioning. The fans were swell and all but some a/c would have been nice. One caveat before you go. As this museum is on campus which means parking is at a premium. Many of the spaces are reserved and those that are not require a parking permit which you buy on the first floor, in the gift shop. It's only 2 bucks and as the museum is free, reasonable. read more

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Love this museum! It is small but it has a good amount of exhibits to look at. I was surprised that admission was free (or you can do donations) because coming from California, almost everything requires a fee. We probably spent a little over an hour walking around, looking and reading at all the exhibits. The best thing to me was that it didn't feel crowded and I was able to take my time looking at everything and enjoy. There are parking lots near by you can park with a parking permit. It is worth checking it out if you are near the area and have an hour to kill. read more

I love "Daycations", and quick adventures with my son. Being about a 75 minute drive from Grand Rapids, this museum fits the bill for a perfect day trip. We have made this trip a total of three times in the last 2 years, and each time there is a new favorite thing. The thing that ties all three floors together is the history involved with each exhibit. The cultural experience on the lower level is always a joy to explore as traditional celebrations and fossils are on display. The main floor has a great walk-through of pioneer times in MI, and also a cool display on museum collecting. The third floor is our favorite. My son is such an animal kid, he loves any chance he can get to explore bones, habitats, and eating habits of any animal. Putting him face to face with a snarling hyena or a rattle snake that looks ready to pounce is a delightful day for him. Plus if course; stegosaurus. There is super convenient parking available for $1.50 for two hours. Just pick up the pass in the museum store. It is certainly a great day trip! read more

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Cute and small little university museum. We originally came here to check out the Detroit Resurgent exhibit and was shocked to see it unassumingly displayed in the basement level. They definitely could have made it more interactive and informative. Instead, they just had a wall of photos up of influential figures that gave a very small blurb about their contribution. We were hoping for a more thorough background to it, and unfortunately, it wasn't present. Regardless, the museum itself is pretty well covered. They have evolution pieces, and the third floor animal habitats were my favorite to see. I loved the dinosaur skeleton that they had; really reminiscent of the ones from DC's Natural History museum. I can see the affiliation with the organization just through this exhibit. There were murals of butterflies on the wall that were so beautifully arranged and I liked the first floor exhibit that covered ancient artifacts from all parts of the world. Admission is free, and if you happen to be on MSU grounds, it's definitely worth a visit. It really exports the many cultures that the city of Detroit and Michigan embodies that isn't talked about nearly enough, and I think it's a great outlet for those who want a peaceful stroll that doubles as an educational and fun experience. I'll be back! read more

This museum is a small gem in the center of the Michigan State University campus. The MSU Museum was the first museum in the state to receive Smithsonian affiliate status from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The smaller and more intimate nature of this museum makes it a pleasure to fully explore each of the exhibits without feeling overwhelmed like you do in big city museums. An additional bonus of this museum are its annual events which add life to the East Lansing area. In the cold, grey months of Michigan weather, you can always look forward to the end of February with the Museum's Annual Chocolate Party. Every year, this party puts Willy Wonka to shame. Sample from the excellent booths lining all the walls of MSU's Kellogg Center ballroom but save some room. In the center of the ballroom are beautiful, chocolate works of art waiting to be judged. After judging, most of the "artwork" may be sampled also. At the end of March, indulge again at the annual wine tasting event. The fun doesn't end in the summer. In August, musicians and artists from around the globe gather to bring us three days of heaven at the Michigan Folk Festival! East Lansing is a wonderful place that is about so much more than just football Saturdays. The MSU Museum is a big part of what makes it so great to live here! read more

This Smithsonian affiliate is a great place to check out when you're in town. Exhibits include natural history, Michigan history, culture, hall of evolution, and several rotating exhibits. My favorites are the habitat hall and the collections connections. In the collections connections exhibit, you can see samples of items from the museum's undisplayed collections (the museum collections contain almost a million items!) Some of the displays (like the hall of diversity) are a bit outdated, but they are still fun to look at. While we were there, a prototype of an upcoming exhibit was displayed and we had a chance to give feedback on the exhibit before it is completed, which was interesting. Admission to the museum is free (suggested donation $5 for adults), so you can't really pass up a visit. As you go up the main marble staircase, check out the wall and see if you can find fossils! read more

It may not be as good as the London National Museum but it houses all sorts of interesting works from paleontology to biplanes. They run short historical films, keep rotating and traveling exhibits of local interest, and have ample opportunities to purchase both educational and scientific toys to produce much adulation by the youngsters. The mood rings were a family favorite as was the wooly mammoth tusks. read more

Great way to spend time with visiting relatives. Self paced so you could be there for as long, or short, as you like. No admission, but donations are appreciated. If not part of MSU,you'll need a parking permit which was only $2.50 in the gift shop. Exhibits were fun & interesting. read more

I went today to the Museum for the first time. Normally I go to the one in Downtown Lansing, but I was on campus and thought I would take a peak. I thought there would be more to it, but the few exhibits it did have were terrific. There were stuffed animals depicted in their natural habitat, and large impressive dinosaur and elephant skeletons, as well as a cool early Michigan walk-through exhibit with a functioning old general store. I still like my other Museum, but I recommend everyone come see this at least once. I will be back to visit sometime. read more

Michigan Eats Exhibition, through November 15, 2009. Sometimes we tend to take for granted the food available to us in a daily basis. Have you ever wondered what is it from what you eat that sustains Michigan? The MSU Museum hosted this semester the exhibition Michigan Eats, an illustrative and very friendly exposition that explained Michigan's regional culture through the food found in the state. The exhibition was divided into different colorful sections that helped better explain the various food processing procedures and the events and fairs that Michigan has with these products. As a foreign student in MSU, I found it very amusing to learn more about the typical dishes made in Michigan while discovering their cultural heritage background. The design of the layout in each section was very friendly. The way the explanations were written made it inviting to read through them. And all the pictures posted, made it look like you were looking at collages instead of long boring museum explanations. It was a real treat to discover old utensils in the "vintage tools of the kitchen" section like the apple butter maker, very rustic meat tenderizers, and an 1880 coffee grinder. The tin pots and gelatin molds found in there made it feel like touring around an old country kitchen. In the final section of the exhibition, a vintage convenience store was set up. The little wooden room was filled with real items that were used in a local store that was in service from 1880 through the 1960's. Virginia Bodman, a former music teacher for 40 years at MSU, is now the lady that shows you through the store. She has been a guide in the museum for three years now and knows the story of every single item found in there. She even took the time to show students how people used to place a call back in the old times with one of the first phones ever in use that is exhibited in the store. Touring around the Michigan Eats exposition was a very rewarding experience. Not a lot of people are seen visiting these galleries but I would definitely recommend spending a morning exploring part of the cultural side of campus at the MSU Museum. By Paulina Villa Member of the Michigan State University Arts and Culture committee read more