Our kids had a ton of fun here, especially at the water table!…read more We thought that it was an actual, standalone museum, so we were confused when we were walking through the mall, and we accidentally walked right past it because we thought it was a gift shop. Lo and behold, it's actually very roomy and has multiple interactive stations! Besides the water table, they also loved the vet clinic, play structure, food truck, and collecting eggs. This would be a great place for grandparents to take their kids while parents go shopping at the mall.

Newer location, roomier than their last. Nice and modern play structures and activities for kids…read more Came for their NYE event and it was packed! Good for business but it was so hard to move around and enjoy it to its fullest potential. But I am sure that on regular days it will less chaotic. Nevertheless, friendly staff and fun activities that kept my toddler busy for 2 hours!

This children's museum is amazing. It's the definition of small but mighty: It doesn't look like…read moremuch from the outside, or even when you first step inside. But as you explore through it, you'll see that it has way more magic hiding in every corner than you first thought. Sandcastles Children's Museum is three stories of fun. We took our 7 and 11 year old boys, and the 11 year old had just as much fun as his younger brother. That said, I would say that this museum is best suited for kids who are preschoolers through around 10 years old. One of the best parts of this museum is that it subtly references popular Ludington icons and landmarks. You'll see a play SS Badger ship, popular local restaurants on the second floor, and lots of other things that pay homage to the beach town in which the museum resides. One of our favorite spots in the museum is located on the third floor. It's there that you'll find a mini stage with several real, full-sized instruments that kids are invited to play. There are steel drums, ukuleles, guitars, pianos and lots of other instruments to try out. There's also a TV where you can watch yourself jamming on the instruments. All throughout the museum, you'll find things to play with, like a sand pit with digger toys, a play farm, play grocery store and restaurant, a veterinary office, a post office, craft station, rock climbing wall, science station, theatre stage with costumes, and lots more. There is just so much fun stuff for kids, and my children were occupied for hours.

A delightful spot to spend the day with wild kids. So many thoughtful exhibits with loads of hands…read moreon activities. My 4 year old loved the maternity ward and the 1.5 year old loved the grocery store. Loved our time at the museum. We also loved the mask requirement for all. A great way to feel safe in a world where people are getting so sick. Thank you!

Many small cities don't have much to do in the cultural realm but traverse city is different and…read morethis museum is amazing. The Inuit art section is just so unique and good. Modern art section compelling with unique and diverse representation. Also excellent gift store.

The auditorium has great sound quality. Seating is functional. Come to a show and visit the museum.read more

History is important. Knowing local history helps build community. Taking a bunch of area…read morehistoric buildings and putting them in one place, filled with period-correct furnishings? Brilliant! They told us we'd need a couple of hours to the see the place; we got there in the morning and stayed until closing time. If you read the signs - the way to actually learn something - 2 hours isn't nearly enough. We learned a lot about what drew people to the area, namely logging, and everything else those early residents needed in their lives. Highly educational, and we really enjoyed it.

I visited White Pine Village by myself, because my family wanted to stay at the beach, and…read morehonestly, I had a really good time here by myself. This is a historical museum, so you really need time to read things and absorb them at a slow pace. I love my children, but when they're with me at a museum, I don't have time to read or ponder anything -- I'm usually busy telling them not to touch something or stop climbing something or listening to them say how bored they are. So if you have children and you want to enjoy White Pine Village, I suggest ditching them and visiting by yourself. But! That being said, this living history museum has a lot to offer children, too. So if you do bring your kids, they will certainly have a great time. There are lots of displays to see, and lots of open areas to run around. There isn't much to touch or do, so for kids who like interactive museums, this isn't that. But you'll have fun peering into the different structures at the scenes that have been set up. My favorites were the displays with the medical supplies and the newspaper printing setup. It's really interesting to see what kinds of tools and gadgets people used 100+ years ago. I was told to allow about 1.5 to 2 hours to visit, but I was done after about 30 to 45 minutes. I tend not to be a lingerer when I visit museums, though ... or anything, really. I absorb what I need to and I get out. If you like to read every single little thing, you might be here longer.

It was a rainy cool day in Northern Michigan so we needed to find an alternative to all our outdoor…read moreplans. A friend suggested we check out Raven Hill Discovery Center, which was 30+ min from our hotel in Bay Harbor. I loaded up the car with my 3 kids ranging in ages 6-11 and figured we would give it a shot. When we got there we seemed to be in the middle of nowhere so I was a little skeptical, but figured after a long drive we had to check it out. We payed $10/person (adults have to pay too since "everyone is a kid at Raven Hill Discovery Center) and the lovely woman who works here gave my kids the rundown of the center. Within minutes the same woman announced it was time to learn about the animals and so we joined the other 10 or so people there to learn about and pet snakes, bearded dragons, etc. We have a bearded dragon back at home, but the kids were excited to see this one and learn about snakes. My 11 and 9 year olds stayed for the entire lesson, but the 6 year old got bored halfway thru and went back out to play in the center. And 20 or so min later his siblings and the rest of the gang joined him. The center itself is small, but packed with really fun and interesting activities such as building magnetic towers, creating a ball maze and more. After an hour or so I dragged my kids out of there, but they could have easily stayed for longer. There also seems to be a ton to do outdoors here, but we skipped that part due to the rain even though it was just drizzling when we left. I can't imagine not being outside when possible in Northern Michigan, but this really is the perfect activity on a cold and/or rainy day and great for kid (and even adults) of all ages!

Don't miss this gem of a place. We went in the Winter and Cheri accommodated us even though they…read moreare closed, we made an appointment and they opened their doors to us. For that we are grateful as the boys (4 & 2) enjoyed each and every aspect. There is so much to touch and play with and learn, we have pictures that will last a long long time. What made it even more amazing is we had the whole place to ourselves. The boys were able to touch snakes, lizards and turtles and Cheri did a great job explaining things and asking our 4 years old questions. The magnet table is such a cool thing, there is enough for all to enjoy. We have to go back when it's warm so we can experience all there is to do outside. My one critic is it's to bad there aren't walkways to get to the stuff outside when there is so on the ground and also thought it would be nice if there is a children's price as well. But we are still thankful for our time and would very much like to go again. Thanks for the family memories Raven Hill.

Alden has public docks and then you can walk to park. Nice sand volleyball court for some family…read morefun. Also a train to look at and good photo op. We did not see any play structure and the museum wasn't open when we were there. There was a water fountain which my kids enjoyed since they were thirsty

Depot Park is located on the waterfront and has its own public beach, play structures, and two…read morevolleyball courts. The park has plenty of space and is well maintained. You have a beautiful view of the lake from the center of the park. Bring some food, outdoor toys, and have fun. The museum is located in the old train station depot, which opened in 1908. The museum has old photos, artifacts, and cool model trains. The coolest thing about Depot Park is the old train cars which sit in front of the depot. In recent years they have been restored and look great. If you have children who like trains, you should take them here.

While we were in the area on vacation, we went specifically for the Lego Carnival. Having lived in…read moreTraverse City for a few years [about 15 years ago] I was glad to see the old library being used for something interesting, but it wasn't QUITE as exciting as the word "carnival" might make it seem. There were about three rooms of pre-constructed Lego buildings/objects (one case had things like a bra, telephone, cell phone, and safety pin) which of course the kids aren't allowed to touch and then a play area that contained the Lego tunnel (which was basically a single L-shaped section built from big wooden Lego-looking pieces) that took five seconds to crawl through, the big Lego block building area, the building area with a bunch of plastic bins of random Lego pieces on tables to build cars (or whatever else), and the ramp to test your cars. It really wasn't very exciting to look at...as an adult...but our son (and all the kids there) LOVED IT. So for that reason alone it gets four stars. I can't quite give it five stars because it's definitely not "as good as it gets" but for a smallish town it's pretty cool. And a great way to get out of the heat for a few hours. :) My husband and mother-in-law looked around the rest of the museum and I briefly looked at the rock display (to see what kind of rocks are found around the state) and it doesn't take long since it's not that big. We were there for just under two hours.

Spent $5 to get in, kids were entertained for 3 hours. We went in the summer when they had a huge,…read moreinteractive Lego exhibit. They had models designed and built by experts to look at, but they also had tons of Legos for the kids to play with. They also have a huge vat of cherry pits (large enough for 5 kids to play in at once) which is there year round. It's also just a cute little museum about Traverse City history in a beautiful location. Definitely recommend if you're in T.C. and you have a couple of hours to kill and some kids that need entertaining.

The taxidermy museum here was small but well put together. There's a wide variety of animals and…read moreother objects to see. There's fur to touch things to read. I especially enjoyed the small task at each exhibit, such as the find the arrowhead or find the chipmunk. Very neat.

I've been coming to the Spirit of the Woods museum since I was a little kid, around 15 years, and…read moreit is one of the highlights when I come to Elk Rapids! The opportunity to learn and see taxidermy and how the animals would look in their natural habitat is unmatched. The owners are both knowledgeable and will take time to answer any questions you may have. I love the sounds that play as you walk throughout and the different readings you can look at. The gift shop, although not to my taste, has some great and interesting finds you won't see at any old gift shop in ER. I wish there were more Guntzviller's specific items, because I come for the museum and can't afford any of the taxidermy myself (yet).

If I could give this place 10 stars I would!…read more This is quite simply the most stimulating museum experience that I've ever had in my life! The theme of the museum is that it's basically a walk-through the history of the technology of the reproduction of music. It is a guided tour that takes about an hour and a half, and it consists mainly of hearing about the history and development of the technology. And all of the pristine musical instruments are played for you. It is just a delight ! Clean well kept informative, exciting stimulating I just can't think of enough words for this place and I just want more people to know about it. The highlights are a player piano that plays Rhapsody and blue exactly the way George Gershwin would've played it And then a completely operating organ that would've been used (and was used) during the silent movie era This place is just so fun ! I was so happy after I visited and can't wait to come back hopefully for a special event so I can see a silent movie with the appropriate accompaniment! Worth every dime of admission ! They also take donations, so please give generously!

My Detroit to Michigan tour brought me here. Had a nice personal tour where the lady gave us…read morehistory of the Museum and played handful of old time Musical instruments like the pianos and organs. One self playing instrument was a combo duet between a violin and piano in a juke box. Truly amazing! This Pianoforte website explains well, "What is a Self-Playing Piano? Also known as player pianos or Pianolas, older style self-playing pianos uses a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism to play pre-programmed music on your piano using perforated paper or metallic rolls. The keys would move up and down as if the piano were playing by itself." So you can imagine how the piano player was eliminated as a job performer to these new type of jukeboxes and self playing pianos. This little Museum is quite a little hidden gem that you would just pass by on the main road on to your next destination. The state of Michigan, the land of cherries and historical unique musical instruments! Well worth the stop.

That a gem of a place! We are so happy we stopped. The animals are all healthy and well taken care…read moreof. The staff is enthusiastic and super knowledgeable. It is refreshing to see employees so engaged and informative.

If you like butter flies, this is your place. Check out the unique items in the gift shop. Food…read moretrucks in the parking lot.