Schools

As an institution dedicated to quality education since 1854, the Public Museum is devoted to enhancing learning for your students. We will engage their imaginations with quality educational programs providing unique learning experiences.

For preschoolers to graduate students, the Museum is the premier resource for hands-on and collections based learning about the West Michigan region, and our rich cultural, social and natural history.

All of our programs have been designed to correlate directly with State of Michigan Curriculum Standards, and the specific links are listed in each program description.

Available Programs

To book your visit

  • To make reservations, call 616.929.1754 between 9 am and 3 pm Monday through Friday, or email. In order to facilitate the scheduling, it would be helpful to have the following information ready before calling:
  • Date and time of planned visit
  • Number of students and chaperones
  • Type of tour and additional options
  • Grade of the class
  • Name of school, address, phone and fax number
  • Teacher’s name, phone number and email address

Group Admission Fees

General Admission - $3 per student

Guided Programs – additional $1.50 per student (Programs for special exhibits may have additional fees)

Planetarium Shows - $3 per student with general admission

If you just wish to view a planetarium show, without touring the Museum or participating in any other programs, the fees are $4 per student without general admission.

One chaperone for every 5 students will be admitted free to the Museum and programs. Additional chaperones above the 5:1 ratio are charged adult general admission, $7 per person.

Carousel Rides are $1.

Special exhibitions may have additional fees.

Other

Lunch room is available for groups on a limited basis. Advance reservations are required.
Group lunch catering is also available for an additional fee, and advance reservations required.

Teachers! Get updates on programs and events via email!

Guidelines

  • Group Size

    Docent programs and Planetarium shows may only be booked by groups of 20 or more. 

  • Docent programs/planetarium shows

    The scheduling of docent programs and planetarium visits must be done no less than two weeks prior to the scheduled visit.

  • Discounts/Memberships

    Coupons cannot be used as a method of payment for group visits.  Additionally, if someone has a membership that they want to use with a group the group scheduling office must be notified no less than 5 days prior to their visit to make that change; otherwise the membership is not applicable to the group.

  • Group Changes

    Groups must make any changes to their visit, including student count and memberships, 5 days prior to their visit.  You will be charged based on the number of spaces reserved.

  • Deposit

    A $50 deposit is required for all scheduled visits.  The deposit will be applied to the total cost of the visit. If rescheduling is necessary, the total deposit will carry over with to the new visit.  If a group must cancel their visit for any reason and they do so less than two weeks prior to their visit, the deposit will not be refunded.  The deposit must be sent to the Museum no later than two weeks prior to the scheduled visit.