The Kalamazoo Valley Museum offers Science and history permanent exhibits and programming; state-of-the-art planetarium; Challenger Learning Center (a simulated space flight program that focuses on math, science, language arts, team-work and problem-solving).History and science demonstrations and workshops. There is also a Preschool area with guided play and storytime.

KCAD is offering a hands-on printmaking presentation that focuses on technology and social media. This high school STEAM lesson discusses the power and responsibility readers have regarding information found on the web.

Meet farm animals and get a glimpse of rural life at Kensington Metropark’s Farm Center. Take in the sights, smells and sounds of life on the farm and see live farm animals like chickens, sheep, cattle and draft horses. Visit a 150-year old restored barn (winner of the MBPN 2012 Barn of the Year), the poultry house or the barn exhibit room and kids’ area. Take a short walk to the riverside where a one-of-a kind “green” building (made exclusively of natural materials), a stone labyrinth, a grass maze and the new early skills area including a blacksmith shop and brick oven can all be found. An herb garden, field crops and old-fashioned farm equipment are also on display. Special programs on the animals, historic techniques, and other farm-related topics are held throughout the year.

Kids 'N' Stuff is appropriate for all ages, but our exhibits and programs will appeal mostly to children 18 months through second grade. We encourage family interaction, so please plan to come and play along! All children must be accompanied by adults through their entire visit.

Maybury Farm Educational Tours provide a great way to get students out of the classroom to experience life on the farm in a fun, hands-on environment!

Classes offered include:
+ Getting to Know Farm Animals
+ Making Maple Syrup Tours
+ Honey and the Honey Bees
+ Soil...It's More Than Just Dirt!
+ Nature on the Farm
+ Fall Corn Maze


For more information on fees or to book your tour call (248) 374-0200.

The Michigan Science Center offers the Explorer program which has exploration time in the hands-on exhibit galleries, a Chrysler Science Stage show, a DTE Energy Sparks Theater presentation and a Toyota Engineering Theater show. Also available is a video in the IMAX theater dome.

The Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum is committed to building the future through nurturing learning experiences, encouraging family relationships, and serving as a resource for both the communities and educational systems throughout the region.

Each of the MMCM exhibit galleries has been tied directly to the Michigan Department of Education Curriculum and National Early Learning standards. For details on the correlations of exhibits and Michigan Curriculum Framework, please click on the PDF links below.

More than 3,000 students annually come to the Outdoor Discovery Center to learn about Michigan history from its indigenous communities to the early European settlers. Their learning includes hands-on activities related to daily life and culture including traditional gardening, tool making and use, foraging, hunting and trapping traditions, trading of natural resources, and production of maple syrup and sugar. Using the center's live animals and taxidermy, students explore are as they create projects that incorporate both the physical characteristics of animals and also the habitat in which those animals live. Our team of Education Network ambassadors also works with local schools to incorporate art into their lessons. Their projects have included plein air painting, sculptures in the spirit of work by Andy Goldworthy, and pencil sketching. During summer camps, students are often engaged in art-related activities including simple drawing and coloring to media production. The camp "Lights, Cameras, Animals" has children between 8-12 years old create a script and act based upon a theme facilitated and produced by a staff person. Lastly, the ODC has an art trail that is enjoyed by more than 50,000 visitors annually which includes sculpture and tactile elements to activate the viewers senses.

Plan a day of adventure and fun. Groups of every age will be inspired by the richness of Michigan’s natural resources. All school educational programs align with Michigan’s Grade Level Content Expectations.

General admission for groups is $2 per person (both children and adults), available for groups of 20 or more.

The PIX Theatre was built by George Smith, who began his “show business” life in a production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin at the White Opera House. When the show went on the road, 18 year-old George went with it. Before long the troupe ended up broke in Chicago and George returned to Lapeer. Next, George began playing in theater orchestras in Flint and Saginaw where he met and married Vera, the band’s pianist. In 1914, the Smith’s opened a small movie theater next door to what would become the PIX Theatre. Business was good, with tickets selling for five and ten cents. By 1921, the Smith’s were ready to expand their business, so they built the Lyric Theatre, “the fanciest show house around.” Silent movies reigned supreme, accompanied by Vera on the piano until 1928, when the “talkies” came to town.

Early in 1940, with movies at the peak of popularity, it was rumored that Harry Holboth, owner of the Deluxe Theater in neighboring Imlay City, was planning to build a new theater in Lapeer. George Smith, not to be outdone by the competition, quickly set to work locating a site for a new, modern movie house that he would name The PIX Theatre.

George bought the Wattles Bank property and set to work building a theater that would serve the community for decades to come. The PIX opened one year later on April 9, 1941. Its flashing marquee and porcelain enamel panels were the pride of the community. Prior to the Grand Opening presentation of The Bad Man, starring Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore and Ronald Reagan, George Smith declared that the policy at The PIX would be “strict adherence to just one aim … the finest of entertainment,” and promised never to inflict upon his audiences “such parasitical annoyances as BUNKO NIGHT, BANGO, SCREAMO and – most important of all – never a double bill!”

From 1941 to the mid 1950’s, Smith operated both The PIX and The Lyric theaters, but rarely at the same time. The Lyric was a larger and grander theater, but The PIX had a state-of-the-art cooling system (which in 1941 meant cold water dumped from a well through a series of coils to chill the air before it was blown into the theater). In the 1950’s, with the advent of television, Smith closed the Lyric theatre for good. After years of private ownership, The PIX closed in 1996 and was purchased by the City of Lapeer Downtown Development Authority.

Today, the PIX Theatre still retains its original art deco façade and marquee. Many of the interior elements remain as well following a $325,000 renovation made possible by funds from the Downtown Development Authority, the City of Lapeer and a capital improvement grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

Renovation of the Theatre included the installation of a stage and stage lighting system. The PIX reopened as a live performance venue in 1997 with an inaugural performance by the popular Michigan vocal trio, Three Men and a Tenor. The private non-profit PIX Arts Council now manages the Theatre on behalf of the Downtown Development Authority offering approximately fifty live performances per season.