Kalamazoo Children’s Museum: Free things to do in Kalamazoo, MI

When you’re on a family vacation, you’ve already invested a lot: Plane tickets, rental cars, hotels, meals out… It adds up! That’s why I’m always excited to find budget-friendly family activities when I travel. One of my favorite yet is this free Kalamazoo children’s museum in Michigan: the Kalamazoo Valley Museum!

TBH, I was shocked that admission is free to this hands-on children’s science museum. The quality of the exhibits, the care taken with the displays and the overall fun of the museum were top-notch. Also, Kalamazoo, Michigan isn’t exactly a tourist mecca, but the city really outdid itself with the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

If you’re traveling in the Midwest with family, I highly recommend adding this Kalamazoo children’s museum to your list of things to do in Kalamazoo. (And if you want to appear super-hip to the local lingo, you can call it “K-zoo.”)

At the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, your littles will get to sculpt mountains with an interactive topography map, compose a song that will play on its own, manipulate a mini tornado, learn from real mummies, create a wind turbine—and more!

Read on to learn about how to make the most of visiting the Kalamazoo Valley Museum with kids. My review of this free Kalamazoo children’s museum in Michigan covers the best exhibits, logistics, live events and even sensory friendly aspects for if your children have special needs.

Enjoy Kalamazoo!

Why visit the Kalamazoo Valley Museum with kids?

In the spring, my family went to Kalamazoo, Michigan for our cousin’s wedding. We had an amazing time at the wedding, celebrating two wonderful humans joining their lives together. Once the wedding finished, my kids needed things to do in Kalamazoo where they could be their usual zany, active selves without being shushed.

So I researched things to do in Kalamazoo, and we found this free children’s museum. Without a doubt, we were going to the Kalamazoo children’s museum!

We spent two hours at this hands-on science and learning museum—and could have explored longer. But we literally stayed until the last possible moment before closing, and even then I had to pretty much drag the kids away from the fun, family-friendly science activities!

Here are the features that make the Kalamazoo Valley Museum so spectacular.

Kid-friendly features of this Kalamazoo children’s museum

Sensory play to the max

Search on Pinterest and everything is all about sensory play, and for good reason: Small children learn by doing, and manipulating materials in a way that engages multiple senses is terrific for their development. Sensory play stimulates the growth of new neural pathways, strengthens creativity, encourages exploration and innovation, and increases motor skills.

Plus, sensory play is fun!

The Kalamazoo children’s museum incorporates sensory play throughout the three-story space. My girls’ favorite example of sensory play at this hands-on children’s museum was the topography activity: By moving kinetic sand, they sculpted mountains, valleys and rivers. And by creating shadows with their hands, they could spark thunderstorms and watch how the water moved over the landscape.

Open-ended play that teaches science (sneakily)

Have you ever tried to explain a science concept to your kids? Chances are, you got a blank stare right before they changed the subject. That’s because trying to explain abstract concepts doesn’t work well for children; they need to understand science by experimenting and doing.

At this Kalamazoo children’s museum, exhibits are designed so kids see science concepts in action.

Take, for example, an area dedicated to shadows. My girls weren’t attracted to this exhibit to learn about how the size of shadows changes based on how close an object is to the light source. (*snooze*) Rather, they wanted to play with all the figurines!

However, through this open-ended play, they saw that moving a little bear close to a light made its shadow bigger than the large bear. They had great fun creating a whole story about a bear family living in the woods. It turns out they were inspired, too: Since returning from Kalamazoo, Michigan, they’ve been putting on puppet shadow shows almost every night!

Family activities for a range of ages

I love that this Kalamazoo children’s museum included activities designed for a range of ages, from babies to early middle school. My girls are 3 and 5—fairly close in age—but still have different interests and skills. They settled into different activities and even found their own, age-appropriate ways to interact with the same exhibits.

Space for babies and toddlers to explore science

If you’re looking for things to do in Kalamazoo with toddlers, you’ve found it: The Children’s Landscape preschooler room on the second floor of this Kalamazoo, MI museum offers a quiet area designed for kids 5 and under. This is where your baby and toddler will love to hang out.

A rocket and a bus encourage imaginative play and make-believe. A puppet show theater lets kids explore storytelling. The make-your-own hopscotch area got my younger daughter hopping for ages. And a coloring station is tucked into a cozy area that is perfect for babies and toddlers who are feeling overwhelmed by the big-kid energy of the rest of the children’s museum.

Physical activity at the museum

Have you ever been to a museum with kids when they weren’t supposed to jump, skip and move their bodies? It’s hard. That’s why I love that the Kalamazoo Valley Museum incorporates physical activity into the science activities.

For example, my girls and I spent roughly a half-hour on one kid-friendly activity where we ran and jumped along a track to make line graphs on a screen. It was so fun!

Kalamazoo Valley Museum – children’s museum in Michigan from Catherine Ryan Gregory on Vimeo.

Experimentation, failure, persistence (aka science!)

The scientific method is inherently based on experimentation—and failure. Teaching kids that this is a totally normal part of learning and understanding makes a huge difference in their capacity for perseverance.

The Kalamazoo Valley Museum offers plenty of “problems” for kids to solve—and doesn’t give the answers! This allows kids to try things out on their own and figure out what works.

My girls, for example, loved engineering structures with rods, balls and rubber bands. Then they pushed a button to simulate different types of earthquakes. Their structures often toppled over—and that’s the point! They saw that some designs couldn’t withstand an earthquake, then figured out how to build sturdier ones.

Hands-on activities like this one at this Kalamazoo children’s museum are the best way to develop grit—a key characteristic among future scientists.

Connection between science and history

This hands-on science museum incorporates history, too. Certain exhibits and features, such as the Kalamazoo city history area and the gallery wall, ground science in time. This is also a terrific opportunity to talk to your kids about how our ideas, including our ideas of science, change over time.

For example, my girls and I talked about how women weren’t always welcome in the scientific community. (They were horrified. And confused.) Talking about history also allows us to discuss the evolution of social ideas—like how people in power in our country wanted to keep black and white folks separate. These are terrific learning opportunities for kids. I’m grateful for places like this Kalamazoo museum that give parents a way in to discuss challenging topics like sexism and racism.

Live events at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum

When we visited the Kalamazoo Valley Museum with kids, we didn’t see any special events—but check out the museum’s calendar to see if you can catch one! The children’s museum hosts story times, live music and even a chili cook-off.

Planetarium shows

We didn’t attend a planetarium show, but this is definitely on my list of things to do in Kalamazoo with kids for the next time we visit. Yes, these shows include explorations of the universe—but other ones take you back in time to when dinosaurs roamed the planet or even to the bottom of Michigan’s Great Lakes.

Planetarium tickets are just $3 per person—an affordable add-on, especially considering this children’s museum is free otherwise.

Sensory friendly for families with special needs

This Kalamazoo science museum is one of the most sensory-friendly children’s activities I’ve seen for kids on the autism spectrum or those with other sensory needs.

You can get a “sensory tool kit” from the front desk. It includes items that will make a museum visit easier for kids who need accommodations, including fidget bands, noise canceling headphones and other tools to help children navigate the museum. In addition, on Sensory Saturdays, planetarium shows run on lower volume, and free classes for families cover topics like childhood development, parenting skills and autism.

Science is a part of everything

Sometimes we think of science as a subject separate from language, math—everything. (After all, these courses are distinct all through school.) But this hands-on museum shows that science relates to just about every field, including music, food—and even hockey!

Visiting the Kalamazoo Valley Museum: The details you need

If you’ve been wondering what to do in Kalamazoo with kids, I know this post has been helpful! By now you’re excited to bring your kids to this Kalamazoo children’s museum. Heck, you’re probably itching to play with the hands-on museum exhibits yourself! (No judgement, I was doing it too!)

Here’s what you need to know to make the most of your visit to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

Bathrooms: Restrooms are located on the first and second floors.

Coat check: You can stash coats and bags in lockers on the first floor, to the left of the front desk. You just need a quarter to use the lockers, which you’ll get back you when you return the key.

Parking: Street parking in downtown Kalamazoo is extremely limited. I recommend using a parking garage. There’s one just a block away from the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. Use this site to find nearby parking.

Food + drink: This children’s museum doesn’t have a cafe, but you can bring in your own food and drink. However, you can only eat and drink on the ground floor. There are picnic tables nearby in the park; you can also sit in the plaza at the museum’s entrance.

Playground: If your kids still have energy to burn after playing at this Kalamazoo children’s museum, head to the playground at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place. Just a block away from the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, you’ll find this city park with a fountain—and a play structure, of course.

Donations: I was so blown away by this wonderful children’s museum in Kalamazoo that I couldn’t believe that it was free. I’m grateful that such a wonderful museum is affordable to all. I wanted to support its work and ensure it continues to be something every family can enjoy, regardless of their finances, so we donated to the museum before we left. You can do the same if you’re financially able; you can also become a supporting member.

Ready to explore this kid-friendly museum in Kalamazoo

Now that you know the Kalamazoo Valley Museum is one of the best things to do in Kalamazoo with toddlers and big kids, I’m pretty sure it’s on your itinerary. After all, it’s free, so you lose nothing by trying it out!

Once you go beyond the free admission, though, I’m confident you’ll agree that this children’s museum in Kalamazoo is a wonderful place to spend the day with kids.

PS – While you’re in Michigan with the family, check out Detroit’s incredible street art! The murals in Eastern Market are concentrated in just a few blocks, making it easy to see a ton of street art with minimal walking—ideal for families.