This place is amazing! Its located in the mall. We accidentally parked near Dunham's but we found out that its closer to the other doors further down. They have doors that are hard to escape. They charge $10 per person but the membership is a lot cheaper. They also participate in the museums for all and charge $20 for a membership for the year for it. There is an area behind the counter area with a room for strollers and bags. You can also eat food there as well I believe. The kids had so much to do. They had a lot of educational areas and designs. They loved placing the balls in the tubes. They had a little vet area. They also had a kitchen area in the back. They had a car track and water table. They have a giant playscape with two slides. By the checkin they have a small store area as well. The kids had so much fun! read more

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Our kids had a ton of fun here, especially at the water table! 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. read more

Newer location, roomier than their last. Nice and modern play structures and activities for kids. 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! read more

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Very clean. Friendly staff. Lots of fun things to do Did not realize it was within the mall. Coming from out of town, it was a pleasant surprise that it was within the mall!! Lots more fun to do! read more

This place is awesome. It is very small and has an ample private parking lot. They take COVID very seriously here. First, masks are required for everyone over the age of 2. Second, they are limiting capacity, which I like. It was very comfortable and intimate there. My littles were free to roam. Third, you must check out all toys that go with their exhibits and then once you are done, you return them to be cleaned before being used by the next kid. There is a nice small replica bridge in the front of the museum and some boats that kids can play in. The museum is a one level museum that has a small activity room that is used to host special events and birthday parties. It also has a small gift shop. Some of the museum's exhibits include: a toddler area for kids under 3, a helicopter with a main rotor that kids can work from the inside, a light house with keeper's quarters, Guardians of the Great Lakes (a tribute to the US Coast Guard), Fluids 101 (a water table that you can move pieces to make a dam), Life Cycle of a Cherry (take a cherry from growth to the store), train track building, a mock freighter, bridge building, a periscope, Waves of Gravity (tubes on a wall with magnets that you arrange a get balls to go through, and puppet theater. My littles favorite was Fluids 101, by far. Kids do get a little wet playing here, but the museum does has smock's for them to use. This museum had the littles very entertained and we visited during their Noon Years Eve event, where we not only had access to all the exhibits, but they had special crafts and ball drop as well. The staff here is very nice, courteous and helpful. They were awesome. This is a nice place for the littles to play freely and have lots of fun. It may be a small place, but it is packed with a lot to do. Being small has it advantage though, I was never too far from my littles and did not worry about them wondering off. I enjoyed my time here and recommend taking your little ones here to have some fun. read more

This Children's museum has lots of great ideas for children. However, the learning and playing process of young children is interrupted by having to stop and check out the playing pieces for each exhibit. It was also hard for me to get my children excited for the stations because they couldn't see the full picture. Everything to them just looked bland. I wouldn't really recommend this place for kids under 3, except for the water table. Water tables are always a hit. read more

It's a nice little place for children to hang out. I came in with a 1.5 year old. I felt like she was too young for a lot of activities. We had fun but were bored after an hour. I would come back next year to see if my kiddo would be more interested. I feel like activities are more 3+ years. My daughter did enjoy the slide they had inside and was able to independently go up and down it. She also enjoyed looking how other kids played at the water table but was too little to play herself. They have a room with crafts but again that's geared towards older kids as well and was confirmed it was not for 18 mo old. I haven't been since but will definitely come back once my kids are older to see if they like it more. It's a nice place to take kids when the weather is bad and you need a change of scenery read more

What a wonderful winter refuge for my 3 year old! Lovely, engaged staff. CLEAN facility and hands-on exhibits. Keep up the good work! Also, an impressive gift shop! read more

Lack of staff, janky appliances, old and bare play structures. Little kids seemed entertained for about 20 minutes. It was probably much better pre-COVID, but it has not been able to retain the same entertainment value while also staying safe and sanitary. I didn't expect much, but I was hoping for more than two to three rooms of button pushing, wheel spinning, and caption reading. It would be nice with some more modern appliances like speakers that read captions to young kids, or colorful light features. To be fair, the place was very busy when I was there and all the kids did seem to be having fun. With increasingly tech-savvy generations of kids, a place like this is obsolete. read more

Great Lakes Children's Museum - Top of the lighthouse area above the rest. - Children's Museums Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

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This Children's Museum is tiny, and really only appropriate for kids 0-8. Exhibits are scaled to small kids, and were perfect for my three-year-old. The theme of the exhibit is about the nature, fishing, nautical culture, and weather of the Great Lakes region, and there are two or three technological exhibits. All exhibits are hands-on and kid-friendly. A toddler room in the front is recommended for little bitty kids, though if a parent were to sit on the bench in the center of the museum, she could easily find all of her kids within a minute or two, and watch the exit door at the same time. The restrooms were clean, the staff was friendly, and I hear there is a story time. I recommend this as a time-killer if it is too hot for an outdoor playground. $6 admission is a fair price for what you get. read more

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Nice museum. I have to give this museum some credit since my kids did have a good time. I have been to many other that had so much more in such a small space. I think they could do better. The water table was too high and complicated for a 1 and 3 year old. The slide was high and dangerous. I wish we could have spent more than a couple hours there, but there wasn't enough to do over and over again. Don't expect a long visit. read more

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For a kids museum up in Northern Michigan, and given its young age, this is a really good kids hands-on museum. It has a lot of exhibits that highlight local culture and related science topics, and it provides interactive play both inside and outside of the building. Based on some photos it looks like they refresh many of their exhibits so things don't get too stagnant. For the relatively cheap admission ($6), the 90 minutes we spent here was well worth it! FYI: The museum does not have any affiliations with national associations, so they do not any reciprocal benefits for members of other museums. read more

Great Lakes Children's Museum - Exterior of Museum Building - Children's Museums Near Me - Traverse City, Michigan

This is a much smaller location than what we are used to for a children's museum. We have been members at ones that are 2-3 stories of activities going on. My kids do enjoy going to get out of the house especially on crummy days. Since size it doesn't take long to get through very quickly. A very small baby area. At least it gets some of the creative playing going on with them for a little bit. read more

If you are going you had better have a reservation. We walked in right at 2:30 (after they reopened for cleaning). We were turned away because they were "at capacity" for the day. Barely anyone in the building. They gave no apology or suggestion at a later time to come back. They simply said "we can't make the building any bigger." When you're in the business that caters to families with young children I'd appreciate a little more customer service and understanding. Absolutely ridiculous. read more

This is the worst children's museum we have visited. It is tiny, worn, and most of the exhibits don't work. My kids were bored after a half hour. Waste of $30. read more

Nice museum. Awesome place for kids. They were doing some Construction while we were there which is a bummer but hopefully they are adding some cool exhibits. The water table was the best! The slides were cool and there was a cute puppet show area. My kids loved it! read more

Our young family (1 yo boy and 4.5 yo girl) had a fantastic time here. We stopped in to pass time while awaiting a flight home out of TVC after spending time with family in Suttons Bay. We all loved the nautical exhibits for the kids to play, and the interactive water table was super fun for our little guy. The staff here is awesome too! We needed to store our luggage for a few hours, and the man working was so accommodating and friendly. He also helped my daughter and me make really fun sand art, but I definitely don't recommend putting the sand art in a carry-on for travel! Stop in here for a couple of hours, you'll be glad you did! And if you are just looking for a great place to get a unique and fun child's gift, their gift shop has some really great items for young kiddos. read more

Crafts, water table, boats, a slide, a lighthouse, a snack area to bring in your own food AND clean bathrooms!! We became members on the second visit. Great way to keep kids entertained from age 2-12ish. We've been here for 2 hrs and everyone is still having a blast!! :-) read more

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I took my 16 month old to spend some time for something to do and was not impressed. There is a $7 ish admission fee (same price as other children's museums that are significantly larger and have a greater variety of activities) for ages 1 and up, but for what this museum offers, there isn't much she could do because the majority of the museum was too "old" for her. There is a small toddler corner and a small kitchen area, but other than that, not much for her. Compared to my visit to the museum in Grand Rapids, I would recommend you just save your money and go to the beach or a playground. I understand that TC's museum won't be on par with one in a bigger city, but it bothers me that for the price of admission, it's not very toddler friendly, and most of the clothes and play food in the kitchen area looked very dirty (how many mouths have all those toys been in?). It would be nice to have a play office, grocery store, musical area, and so on, because even my daughter can have fun pushing around and filling up a grocery cart or pushing keys on a piano or keyboard. read more

Pretty small, but still nice and had enough to do for a 3.5 year old and almost 2 year old. They liked the art center and enjoyed climbing through the tunnels (something I have never understood -- but then again, I'm claustrophobic).Overpriced gift shop; par for the course. read more

Small but fun for a cold or rainy day, unless it's packed with people, like it can get in the summer months :)

I have never given a bad review before, but I must vent....We took our 4 grandchildren there. My 23 month old ran into the gift shop and grabbed a toy school bus and ran into the play area. I went up to the counter and told the man I would pay for it when we leave.. He said ok. 45 minutes later a lady came up and asked if that bus came from the gift shop. We said yes and were told we could pay when we left. The lady ( later told was the manager) insisted we pay immediately...we tried to take it from the 23 month old...he had a meltdown... I don't understand why this ADULT reacted this way...seeing this child so upset. What a waste of over $40.00 for approximately 45 minutes. When I confronted the man he simply said they try to keep the toys in the gift shop.....maybe put a door or fence there so 23 month old can't run in....what a concept. Too bad because the other kids were having fun! They need to change their attitude or not tell people it is ok!!!! read more

My six year old had fun with water table and craft. The water exhibits were far to complicated for either of us. One wasn't working for sure and your guess is as good as mine as whether the other ones worked, read more

We really liked this place. We drove about 60 miles to visit on a cold, snowy day. It's not a big place, but the kids had fun and being that it was regionally themed with water and ships and lighthouses, our kids loved it since they don't get to see stuff like that where we live. read more

Not great as children's museums go, very small, and mostly entertaining for preschoolers and younger. My almost-6 year old is still entertained for an hour or so, though she is starting to get bored with it. It is a great way to kill an unexpectedly rainy morning in Traverse City. read more