Tag Archives: Kate Moore

Grand Rapids Public Museum shines a microscope on the human microbiome

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“Zoo in You: Microbes” opens at the Grand Rapids Public Museum May 19.

By Kate Moore

Grand Rapids Public Museum

 

Trillions of microbes make their homes inside our bodies, and the Grand Rapids Public Museum will introduce you to them! Opening May 19, Zoo in You: Microbes, allows all ages to explore this fascinating and complex world inside us that is our microbiome— a dynamic, adaptable and delicately balanced ecosystem much like any other found in nature.

 

At Zoo in You, learn who our constant microbial companions are, where they live, how diverse they are and in what ways scientists are discovering just how important they are to our personal health. Visitors are invited to explore this vibrant world of our inner microorganisms through engaging, interactive, and bilingual exhibits and programs.

 

“The Museum is excited to take our visitors to a microscopic level to have fun while learning about the organisms who live inside us,” said Kate Moore, VP of Marketing & PR. “This exhibit is a great, hands-on way for all ages to learn more about science. The community can look forward to additional science programming and events to go along with this new exhibit!”

 

Zoo in You has three thematic areas:  Meet the Microbes, Our Complex Ecosystems and Exploring our Microbiome:

 

Meet the Microbes

Go on an interactive journey to learn all about the four major types of microbes that live in and on us! From bacteria to archaea, fungi to viruses, these tiny non-human organisms outnumber our human cells ten to one. Through hands-on activities, learn about “good” microbes, watch how our microbiome reacts to every day occurrences, and manipulate a marble maze to learn how a newborn baby is first colonized by microbes.

 

Our Complex Ecosystems

Delve deeper into the lives of microbes with green screen technology to get a “weather report” on the climate conditions of your nose, mouth, gut or skin, and a touch-screen video game that challenges guests to keep gut microbes in balance. Adults and kids alike are invited to explore the eye-opening hand “washing” station to observe just how long it takes to be free of germs.

 

Exploring Our Microbiome

Get up close and personal with microbes as they answer tough questions and use a microscope to examine real preserved specimens. Build your own viruses using puzzle pieces, assemble DNA strands as quickly as possible, and even try your hand at matching DNA patterns to the correct microbes. Plus, a unique photo opportunity allows you to imagine what they would look like as a microbe.

 

Zoo In You is free with general admission to the GRPM and runs through September 2, 2018. For more information, visit grpm.org/ZooInYou.

 

Museum members can be the first to see the exhibit on Saturday, May 19 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the members only preview! Members can RSVP for the member preview at grpm.org/ZooInYou.

 

Zoo in You was produced and is toured by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. This exhibit was made possible by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Grand Rapids Public Museum hosts live mermaid in current exhibit

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Mermaid Phantom visits the Grand Rapids Public Museum this month.

By Katie Moore

Grand Rapids Public Museum

 

A live mermaid will be visiting the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) Jan. 13 and 14 as part of the Museum’s Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids exhibit.

 

For this special weekend, visit Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids to explore the various mythical creatures of the world and meet Mermaid Phantom! Mermaid Phantom will be in the exhibit from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. both January 13 and 14. Visitors can talk to Phantom, ask her questions about mermaids and mythical creatures, touch her tail and take photos with her!

 

“I am so excited to come warm up my fins at the Grand Rapids Public Museum when I visit the Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids the weekend of Jan. 13 and 14,” said Mermaid Phantom. “I haven’t seen humans in Lake Michigan since last summer! I hope I’ll meet plenty of people so we can take tons of pictures together… and talk about mermaid things too!”

 

Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids featuring models and replicas of preserved specimens as well as cast fossils of prehistoric animals to investigate how they could have, through misidentification, speculation, fear, or imagination, inspired the development of some legendary creatures.

 

Admission to Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids is $12 for adults, $7 for children, $9 for Kent County resident adults, $4 for Kent County resident children, and $2 for all Museum members! Tickets include general admission to the Museum, and can be purchased online at grpm.org or by calling 616.929.1700.

 

Mermaid Phantom will be talking about mermaid life along with discussing other mythical creatures.

Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids offers many interactive stations throughout the exhibition. Visitors can build their own dragon on an engaging touch-screen and watch it come alive before their eyes in a virtual environment.

 

Visitors will touch casts of a narwhal tusk to discover how they lent credence to the centuries-old belief in the unicorn. Hands-on stations also include the lower jaw of Gigantopithecus (extinct group of apes) and a life-size reproduction of the talon of a Haast’s eagle.  

 

This exhibit is located on the Museum’s third floor and runs through May 20.

 

Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org), in collaboration with the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney; Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau-Quebec; Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Atlanta; and The Field Museum, Chicago.

Public Museum extends its weekend hours starting Jan. 6

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The Grand Rapids Public Museum. (Supplied)

The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) just announced changes to open hours for 2018 starting this Saturday, Jan. 6, including earlier hours on Sundays.

 

Starting this weekend, visitors can visit the Museum from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. This provides more opportunities for visitors to take advantage of the GRPM as the community hub for science, history and culture.

 

“We are excited to open earlier on Sundays for our visitors,” said Kate Moore, the Museum’s Vice President of Marketing & PR. “Based on visitor patterns we are shifting our hours to better accommodate our guests to be open when they want to visit us.”

 

The GRPM will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For more information on upcoming exhibits, events and more, visit grpm.org.

 

The Museum will no longer offer their extended evening hours on Tuesday nights with plans to do more regular evening programming at the Museum, including the Concerts Under the Stars series and Beer Explorers.

Last chance to visit the Public Museum’s puzzle room

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“The Puzzle Room: Quest for Conviction” will run through Dec. 31 at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The Puzzle Room gives groups one hour to search a simulation of the Museum’s Archives solving puzzles and finding clues, to create a display of evidence and achieve conviction of a historic Grand Rapids murder.

 

Visitors go on a quest unique only to the Museum and its Collections to convict local 1910s dentist Arthur Waite for the famous Peck Murders in Grand Rapids. Inside the Puzzle Room, there are multiple challenges that take teamwork, communication and investigative skills to uncover, unlock and find the right pieces of evidence to convict the murderer before time runs out.

 

The deaths of John and Hannah Peck in 1916 made national headlines for Grand Rapids, as well as the trial and conviction of Waite.

 

“The Puzzle Room is a unique way for the Museum to use historical stories and artifacts to create a different way for visitors to challenge themselves, have fun and interact with the Collections,” said Kate Moore, VP of Marketing & PR at the GRPM. “With the popularity and positive feedback of The Puzzle Room, we are looking forward to creating other unique experiences in the future.”

 

The Puzzle Room opened in July 2017 as a pilot experience for Museum visitors. The Museum has been and will continue through the end of the calendar year to collect and evaluate visitor data from this experience in order to curate future experiences offered.

 

Admission to The Puzzle Room is $10 for members and $15 for general public.
The Puzzle Room experience is recommended for ages 12 and up, and for 3 to 10 participants. Visit grpm.org/PuzzleRoom for more information.

‘Curiosity Labs’ continue this summer at the Grand Rapids Public Museum

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Participate in hands-on learning for both families & kids!

By Kate Moore, Grand Rapids Public Museum

 

Curiosity Labs will continue this summer at the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) as part of their ongoing science programming, making science accessible and fun for children and families. Curiosity Labs take place once per month on Saturdays and change focus each time.

 

July’s Curiosity Labs will focus on Mystery Solving Science, and will take place on Saturday, July 22. Participants can help the Museum solve mysteries using science! Learn to think like a scientist and conduct two hands on experiments. In this lab, kids will search clues to find out who stole a missing artifact from the Museum’s Collections, using hands-on scientific techniques.

 

On August 12, visitors can learn more about food in the What’s in My Garden? Lab. Are you interested in the food we eat and where it comes from? In this Curiosity Lab, kids will be hands-on learning about gardens, from how to care and harvest, down to what is in the soil that helps plants grow. Kids will prepare their own snack using some of the vegetables from the Museum’s urban garden. This lab will partially take place outside, weather permitting.

 

Labs take place at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on their scheduled date. Labs are designed for children to work alone or to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. It is recommended children 8 and under have a parent or guardian with them. Tickets can be purchased at grpm.org/science or by clicking here.

 

“This is a great way for kids and families to learn together about science!” said Dr. Stephanie Ogren, the Museum’s Science Director. “These special lab experiences were designed after our successful weekly ongoing science programs, Science Tuesdays. At the Museum our goal is to make science accessible to all learners.”

Additional Summer Family Programming at the GRPM

Camp Curious

Additional experiences at the Grand Rapids Public Museum this summer include Camp Curious summer camps that explore the wonders of science, history, culture, art and fun. For 9 weeks this summer, kids age 4-14 can use the Museum as a learning lab in a variety of camp themes.

 

Camp Curious runs through August 14 with various sessions available depending on age and interest. Discounts are available for enrollment in multiple camps and by registering multiple campers. Additionally, Museum members receive discounts off each camp.

 

Camp Curious offers sessions with a focus on a variety of themes from space exploration to building with Legos®, and from fossils to exploring what it was like to grow up in the Victorian Era. Camp options vary for each age group and are suited to their interest. Age groupings are 4-5 years old, 6-8 years old, 9-11 years old and 12-14 years old. To register and to learn more about Camp Curious, visit grpm.org/CampCurious or call 616.929.1700.

 

Special Exhibits — Creatures of Light & Mindbender Mansion

In Creatures of Light visitors will move through a series of luminous environments, from the familiar mushrooms on land to the extreme in the deepest parts of the ocean, to explore the diversity of organisms that glow and how they do it. Visitors will discover the ways in which light is used to attract a mate, lure unsuspecting prey and defend against a predator, and to learn how, where and why scientists study this amazing natural phenomenon. Creatures of Light is open through July 9.

 

In Mindbender Mansion, families will enjoy exercising their minds as they try to master each of the 40 individual brain teasers and the 5 group activities in this fun and unconventional new exhibit. Visitors to Mindbender Mansion will be greeted by the wacky Mr. E., master brainteaser and puzzler extraordinaire to explain the mysteries of Mindbender Mansion, then will set out to gather hidden clues and secret passwords. Upon completing each of the select brainteasers and group challenges, visitors will see if they gathered the necessary clues and passwords to become a member of the Mindbender Society and add their portrait to the “Wall of Fame.”  Mindbender Mansion is open through September 3.

 

For more information, please visit grpm.org.

 

Science Tuesdays

Science Tuesdays is an ongoing educational experience, offering science programming based on changing themes each month. Science Tuesdays take place throughout the day every Tuesday at the Museum and include a variety of activities and interactive displays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

July will focus on amazing explosions, and will teach about the minerals responsible for the fantastic colors in firework displays. Participants will learn about exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions through demonstrations and quick experiments.

 

August Science Tuesdays will focus on food. Learn about where the food we eat comes from. Visitors can discuss large scale agricultural science as well as community gardening. Museum artifacts will feature historical food-making devices and utensils to emphasize the relationship between food and culture.

 

For more information on Museum programming and exhibits, please visit grpm.org.

 

Get your tickets now for the annual ‘Front Row for the Fireworks’ event at the GRPM

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Photo supplied

Kate Moore, Grand Rapids Public Museum

The Grand Rapids Public Museum’s (GRPM) annual Independence Day fundraiser, Front Row for the Fireworks, offers visitors an evening of entertainment, discovery and fun. The fundraiser will take place on Saturday, July 1 to coincide with the City of Grand Rapids celebration.

In addition to having front row seats in Grand Rapids underneath the fireworks, the night will include patriotic themed Mighty Wurlitzer Organ concerts in the Meijer Theater, exciting shows in the Chaffee Planetarium, rides on the 1928 Spillman Carousel, as well as a unique Museum-wide scavenger hunt for the family. Please note, the Museum will close at 5 p.m. on July 1 and re-open at 6:30 p.m.

The Museum Café will serve a meal deal for $5.00, featuring various summer menu items sure to please any palette. Ice cream and other treats will also be available for purchase. At dusk, visitors can head outside to the carousel walkway or the enclosed lawn seating area, or stay inside the Museum in air-conditioned comfort to have an amazing view of the fireworks as they burst over the Grand River.

Tickets are on sale now! Tickets are $10 for Museum members and $15 for non-members. For more information and to purchase tickets visit grpm.org, call 616.929.1700 or stop by the Museum’s front desk. Proceeds from this event support exhibits and programs of the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

Support Local Foster Children

The Grand Rapids Public Museum is once again working with Lutheran Social Services, West Michigan Ronald McDonald House and D.A. Blodgett Homes to bring foster children, who might otherwise not be able to attend, downtown to the Museum to enjoy the festivities. Ticket purchasers may sponsor a child with a $15 ticket donation that includes a meal for the child. For details, please visit grpm.org or call 616.929.1700.

Front Row for the Fireworks is sponsored by Varnum, LLP and Macatawa Bank.

Public Museum puts out call for annual Maker Faire

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By Kate Moore, Grand Rapids Public Museum

 

If you enjoy tinkering, designing, building and hacking new technology-based inventions, then Maker Faire is for you. This year’s Maker Faire will be held at the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) and nearby Grand Valley State University’s Kennedy Hall of Engineering on August 19 and 20.

 

Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering. All of these “makers” come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and to share what they have learned.

 

Featuring both established and emerging local “makers”, this family-friendly celebration features tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, hobbyists, engineers, artists, students and commercial exhibitors. Visitors will see installations from local West Michigan inventors, innovators and tinkerers, as well as makers traveling greater distances to showcase.

 

The Faire will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 19 and from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, August 20. Tickets will go on sale in early summer for Museum members and the general public.

 

Any groups or individuals interested in participating in the Maker Faire should complete the application at GrandRapids.MakerFaire.com. Spots are first come, first serve basis with openings inside both the GRPM and GVSU as well as outside on the GRPM’s lawn. This year’s Maker Faire expects to see more than 7,000 visitors throughout the two-day event.

 

The Call to Makers will close on July 16.

The Public Museum’s newest exhibit goes dark, allowing the creatures to light the way

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By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

Fireflies dancing across the night sky. Jellyfish floating gracefully through a sea’s current. Each of these offer a colorful display of light in the darkness.

 

That generation of light by living things is called bioluminescence, which is created by chemical reactions. And it is not produced for beauty but used to attract a mate, lure unsuspecting prey and/or defend against a predator. These creatures who use bioluminescence are the focus of a new Grand Rapids Public Museum exhibit, “Creatures of the Light.”

 

“This is a very different exhibit for us,” said Kate Moore, the Public Museum’s vice president of marketing and public relations, adding that is partly because the exhibit is in very low light as to better showcase the bioluminescence of the plants and animals featured. “It is a different topic then what we have offered in the past and it has an emersion feel that you experience as you travel through the exhibit.”

 

Opening on Saturday and running through July 9, “Creatures of the Light,” starts by exploring the living things that are on the ground that utilize bioluminescence, such as mushrooms, or fly through the air, such as fireflies. From there, it travels to Waitomo Glowworm Caves in New Zealand where visitors can feel what it is like to view the worms in the caves.

 

The recreated Waitomo Glowworm Caves of New Zealand. (Photo courtesy of the Grand Rapids Public Museum)

Then the exhibit heads to open water, where a majority of bioluminescence creatures live. “In the depths of the ocean, there is complete darkness so the animals living there survive using bioluminescence,” Moore said. Think of “Finding Nemo,” when Dory and Marlin, swimming in complete darkness, see a light and follow it almost right into the hungry mouth of a angler fish.

 

But before you can get to the depths, you must first explore the ocean’s surface where plankton organisms called dinoflagellates will follow your movement and creating a glowing halo around anything that moves. From there, is the Bloody Bay Wall, lit up by coral and fishes followed, of course, by jellyfish. And then finally, you are where almost 90 percent of the bioluminescence animals live, 2,200 feet below sea level in darkness, where the angler fish is waiting to greet you along with some other interesting animals.

 

While the exhibit is dark, it is not scary, Moore said with Public Museum’s Marketing Communications Manager Christie Bender liking it to a ride at Disney World that has little or no light. “It’s a fun experience,” Bender said. “It has that Disney ride, magical sense.”

 

Elements such as the illuminated floor with the dinoflagellates will easily entertain along with the wonderment of the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. Adding to the exhibit, will be a pop-up store by the entrance into the exhibit offering glow sticks, as well as other items, allowing participants to “glow” as they move through the exhibit.

 

“Creatures of the Light” is one of two new spring/summer exhibits at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Opening in May will be “Mindbender Manson,” which will feature 40 brain teasers and five group activities.

 

“The Museum is excited to bring in these two new, innovative exhibits that encourage our visitors to explore more about the world around us, as well as test knowledge and
skills in puzzle solving,” said GRPM’s President & CEO Dale Robertson. “’Creatures of Light’ reveals some of the most magical, wondrous, and truly extraordinary creatures and phenomena to be found in the natural world, and ‘Mindbender Mansion’ is a family friendly way to learn and adapt constructive thinking skills.”

“Creatures of Light” is part of the museum general admission which is $8 for adults, $5 for  Kent County resident adults; $7 for seniors, $3 for Kent County resident seniors, and $3 for students.  “Mindbender Manison” will be $10 for adults, $5 for children, $7 for Kent County resident adults and $2 for Kent County resident children, and free for Museum members.

For more information about exhibits and programs at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, visit www.grpm.org. The Grand Rapids Public Museum is located at 272 Pearl St. NW.

‘Fashion and Tea’ vintage fashion returns to Grand Rapids Public Museum

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By Kate Moore

 

The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) kicks off its 2017 Fashion and Tea programming on Saturday, Feb. 11. Learn about fashion, customs and culture from the Civil War Era into the 20th Century and explore the Museum’s Education Collection of vintage clothing, down to the tiniest detail.

 

3-piece champagne silk dress

The programs will begin in the Streets of Old Grand Rapids exhibition which transports guests back in time to the Victorian era. The program will continue in a classroom at the Museum where guests can indulge in sweet treats and tea, while enjoying a visual feast.

 

Fashion and Tea programs will be held from 2-4 pm. Additional Fashion and Tea program dates are March 4, April 22 and May 13. Tickets are $15 for non-members and $13 for members. Tickets are limited, purchase early online at www.grpm.org, by phone at 616.456.3977 or at the Museum’s front desk.

 

Reciprocal membership benefits for public museum, children’s museum members

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Grand_Rapids_Public_MuseumThis month the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) is partnering with the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum (GRCM) to offer reciprocal membership benefits for the month of October.

 

Through this partnership, GRPM members can visit the GRCM and receive free general admission. GRCM members in return can visit the GRPM and receive free general admission, free planetarium shows and free carousel rides. GRCM members will also be able to visit the new traveling exhibit Whales: Giants of the Deep at GRPM member pricing of $2 between October 22 and October 31, as well as visit Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown! free of charge between October 29 and October 31.

 

Children's Museum“October is a great time to be a member of the GRPM!” said Kate Moore, Vice President of Marketing and Pubic Relations for the Grand Rapids Public Museum. “The GRPM partnered with the Children’s Museum in May this year, and with such a great success and partnership, we decided to do it again.”

 

“We love to partner with the Grand Rapids Public Museum on reciprocal memberships – there is so much for our members combined between the two organizations!” said Adrienne Brown, Marketing and Events Manager of the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum.

 

For more information on the reciprocal membership benefits or to become a member of the GRPM, please visit grpm.org.

Call to Makers Extended to August 10 for the Grand Rapids Maker Faire

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By: Kate Moore

 

Grand Rapids Mini Maker Faire announced today that the Call to Makers for the 3rd annual Grand Rapids Mini Maker Faire has been an extended! Makers now have until Wednesday, August 10 to sign up to showcase what they have invented or are making. This year’s Maker Faire will be August 20 & 21 held at the Grand Rapids Public Museum and nearby Grand Valley State University’s John C. Kennedy Hall of Engineering.

 

Maker Faire is looking for participants who enjoy tinkering, hacking, building and designing new technology based inventions. Any groups or individuals interested in participating in the Maker Faire should complete the application at makerfairegr.com. Spots are first come, first serve basis with openings inside both the GRPM and GVSU as well as outside on the GRPM’s lawn. This year’s Maker Faire expects to see over 7,000 visitors throughout the two-day event.

 

Featuring both established and emerging local “makers,” the Grand Rapids Mini Maker Faire is a family-friendly celebration featuring tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, hobbyists, engineers, artists, students and commercial exhibitors. Visitors will see installations from local West Michigan inventors, innovators and tinkerer, as well as makers traveling greater distances to showcase.

 

The Faire will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 20 and from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, August 21. Tickets are available for purchase at makerfairegr.org with $2 off per ticket through Friday, August 12.

 

Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering. All of these “makers” come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and to share what they have learned.

 

The Grand Rapids Mini Maker Faire is being organized by the GR Makers, The Geek Group, Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University and the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

 

Follow the development of the Grand Rapids Maker Faire on Twitter @makerfaireGR, as well as on its Facebook page.

Robot animals make a ‘zoo’ out of the Grand Rapids Public Museum

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By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

Ever wonder why a giraffe does not pass out when it lifts its head up and down? Curious how a giant squid breathes?

 

These and other animal questions are explored in the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s newest exhibit “The Robot Zoo,” opening this weekend.

 

“There has been a lot of comments and interest on social media about the show,” said Kate Moore, the museum’s vice president of marketing and public relations, who added that the 1,700 tickets for the grand opening event on Saturday, March 19, are sold out.

 

“Part of the appeal comes from the fact that it is a little more hands on then our last exhibit [‘The Discovery of King Tut’] and it is a shift from the historic subject matter to more a science focus.”

 

Moore added that the staff purposely works to vary the different exhibitions at the Museum so as to attract different audiences. While the Museum’s last exhibits, “Tut” and “American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition,” were for more of an older crowd, “The Robot Zoo” is geared more toward kindergarten through eighth grade. The Museum has developed a pre-kindergarten curriculum to go with the exhibit as well.

 

“The Robot Zoo,” which is based on a book of the same name that is now out-of-print, exhibits machinery in the robot animals that simulate the body parts of the machine’s real-life counterparts. Muscles become pistons, intestines become filtering pipes and the brain becomes a computer. For example, in the giraffe, a cooper pipe outlines the main vein in the giraffe’s neck with several gages showing where the vents are located. These vents are what help control the giraffe’s blood flow so the animal does not pass out from too much or too little blood flowing to its head.

 

Because of the design of this exhibit, it has an appeal to those interested in biology as well as those interested in technology and engineering, Moore said.

 

Eight robot animals and more than a dozen hands-on activities illustrate real-life characteristics, such as how a chameleon changes colors, a giant squid propels itself and a fly walks on the ceiling.

 

Popular among the staff is the chameleon, which rocks back and forth as it turns its head, looks around and fires its tongue at its insect pray. “It also has three interactive elements,” Moore said. Those include being able to see what happens when the chameleon is angry, scared, and looking to attract a mate.

 

Other larger-than-life-size animated robots, besides the chameleon and the giraffe, are a rhinoceros, a giant squid with 18-foot tentacles, and a platypus. Joining the animals are a house fly with a 10-foot wingspread, a grasshopper and the monster-of-the-night bug eater, the bat.

 

Admission to the exhibit is free for Museum members and for non-members, $11 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $6 for children with the price including general admission to the entire Museum. Staff does recommend purchasing tickets early since lines can get long on Saturdays and during Spring Break. A membership is $65 for a family and includes parking and planetarium shows, which staff said a new planetarium show for “The Robot Zoo” will be opening soon.

 

Several activities are planned around the exhibit including special Spring Break programs and a summer camp dedicated to robotics. Also, in May, the museum will be opening the National Geographic exhibit “Earth Explorers,” which Moore said has a connection to the “The Robot Zoo” since it looks at animals living in various environments around the globe.

 

“The Robot Zoo” will be open through Sept. 18. The Grand Rapids Public Museum is located at 272 Pearl St. NW. For more on programs and upcoming exhibits, click here.