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celebrating the childlike wonder
in all of us
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Quick Links...
Our Website
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Great Lakes Children Museum
13240 S. West Bay Shore Dr.
Traverse City, MI 49684
(231) 932-4526 |
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Support the Great Lakes Children's Museum
with an online gift
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Featuring July Activities
Summer Programming, Meet Our Intern, Volunteer Opportunities, Mad Science Monday, and More
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July Schedule Changes
 The Museum will be open seven days a week through Labor Day weekend. We will also be offering programs Monday through Friday throughout the summer.
We will be closed on Thursday, July 4th to celebrate Independence Day. Have a great 4th with the children in your life!
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Call for Artists! Children's Art Fair
Friday, August 16 at Friday Night Live
 We are hosting our 11th Annual Children's Art Fair in mid-August. It's a great time for the creative children in your life to think about channeling their creative energies into an entrepreneurial purpose! Young artists up to 8th grade are eligible. Help us spread the word.
For more information and to download a registration form, visit our website.
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Summer Intern - Kaelyn Tarsa
 We are delighted to welcome Kaelyn Tarsa to the Museum team for the summer. Bringing energy, enthusiasm, and a keen sense of fun, she is great working with a group of children or interacting one-on-one.
She will be coordinating InterActive StoryTime and Toddler Time throughout the summer, as well as helping with Mad Science Monday. Kaelyn will also be organizing the Children's Art Fair. |
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The Great Lakes Children's Museum
at the National Cherry Festival
Come to the Kid's Club tent in the food court at the Open Space to play with the portable "Waves of Gravity" exhibit. It will be there all week.
Join us for stomp rockets, special crafts, and sand jars at Cherry Town Fun Night in F&M Park between 4 and 8 pm.
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Mad Science Monday
Afternoons for Older Children
 Every Monday from 1 to 3 pm we will have fun science activities for the whole family. With school out, we are offering hands-on science that will appeal to older children. Children six and under can participate in the joy of discovery with adult assistance. Going Buggy, July 1Love those creepy crawlies? Discover what makes insects such special creatures with hands-on activities. Invent a bug, make it, and take it home. Nano-Mania, July 8Enter the world of the extremely small! Drop in and enjoy the fun of participating in hands-on Nano Science investigations. You will be fascinated by things so small that you can't even see them with your own eyes! Wild About The Weather, July 15Calling all weather watchers! Learn about clouds and storms. Make your own mini weather station. Our Marvelous Moon, July 22What is the moon really like up there in space? Did you ever wonder how the moon keeps changing its shape? How big is it really? Discover craters and much more. Science Rocks! July 29Hands-on geology is fun! Learn about old fossils. Mix up a batch of edible cookie rocks. Mad Science Monday continues through August 20. |
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July Toddler Time Schedule
Wednesdays & Fridays, 10 to 12 through August 23
Toddler Time is offered Fridays from 10 am to 12 pm during the school year and on Wednesdays and Friday during the summer. It is an opportunity for toddlers to interact with each other and learn through a variety of activities and experiences. Toddler Time encourages toddlers' natural curiosity, enhances fine and gross motor skills, guides appropriate social behaviors, and facilitates essential cognitive growth. Most importantly, it's fun! Toddler Time is included with the price of admission or the cost of your annual membership.
Blowing Bubbles, July 3 and 5Children will experiment with blowing soap bubbles. There will be plenty of bubbles to chase and pop! Children will get a chance to pop some bubble wrap. Older kids can construct a geometric shape to dip in bubble stuff. Smaller children can experiment dipping pre-made shapes.  Play Dough Fun, July 10 and 12Roll it! Squish it! Shape it! Poke it! Kids will explore the marvelous medium of play dough. Grocery Store, July 17 and 19Weigh your bananas! Go through the check out! Play food and play money will make this trip to the Museum grocery store great chance for dramatic play. Toddler Gym, July 24 and 26Calling all leaping lizards and hopping frogs! We will be leaping and creeping, hopping and bopping, going and stopping in a toddler style obstacle course. Bottle Bowling, July 31 and August 2Set 'em up and knock 'em down. Children will bowl using recycled plastic bottles as pins and a variety of lightweight balls.
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July InterActive StoryTime Selections
Tuesdays & Thursdays, at 11 am, through August 22
InterActive StoryTime features great works of children's literature and activities and crafts led by Museum staff and volunteers, which enhances the experience for children and deepens their understanding of the selected book. Interactive StoryTime is included with the price of
admission or the cost of your annual membership.
July is "Going Buggy" month
Bugs for Lunch, by Margery Facklam, July 2 and 4
If your lunch was a bug, who would you be?
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle, July 9 and 11
One sunny Sunday, the little caterpillar hatched out of a tiny egg. He was very hungry. Find out all the many things that a tiny caterpillar can eat.
Some Smug Slug, by Pamela Duncan Edwards, July 16 and 18
Smirking and self-important, the slug keeps slithering his way up a highly suspect slope. Will the slug stop before he gets into trouble?
The Very Quiet Cricket, by Eric Carle, July 23 and 25
When the tiny cricket is born he tries to greet his fellow bugs, but at first, he can't make a sound.
Hey Little Ant, by Phillip and Hannah Hoose, July 30 and August 1
A boy finds an ant on the sidewalk. Should he squish him?
InterActive StoryTime is underwritten through a generous
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Volunteer Opportunities at the Museum
 Step up and help! Spark a child's learning through play and discovery by volunteering at the Great Lakes Children's Museum! Discover how you can make a positive impact on children and their families, and support the Museum by giving your time in one of the many available volunteer positions. Leadership Positions
The Great Lakes Children's Museum is governed by a Board of Trustees. The Board oversees the Museum's strategic direction and aids its financial and programmatic success. The work of the Board is supported by standing committees, which do work outside of the Board meetings to increase the organization's efficiency and effectiveness. We start a new Museum Year in July and are currently recruiting to both the Board and Committees. For more information about leadership volunteer opportunities, click here... Interactive Opportunities
There is a variety of other ways for you to get involved and volunteer at Museum while interacting with children. Whether you'd prefer to help with art activities, assist with Toddler Time, or join us in one of our many summer outreach activities, we have a great opportunity for you at the Great Lakes Children's Museum. To learn more about our various adult and youth interactive volunteer opportunities, click here...
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Adopt-A-Highway
 The Museum picks up trash along highway M-72 on the way to Empire. The next scheduled pickup is between July 13 and 21. Do you know some teens who want to roll up their sleeves and help clean up the environment? Crew members must be a minimum of 12 years old. Children between the ages of 12 to 17 must have adult supervision at a ratio of one adult for every three children. Call the Museum at 932-4526 and we'll work to schedule a pickup time convenient for everyone. For more info about Adopt-A-Highway check out the MDOT Website. |
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Coming in August
Look for us at Kids Fest at the Traverse City Film Fest on Friday, August 2. Be sure to check out the Children's Art Fair at Friday Night Live on August 16.
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There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul
than the way in which it treats its children
~ Nelson Mandela
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