Arts and Culture Destinations

Below is a list of Arts and Culture Destinations in the state of Michigan. This list is to be used as a reference. If you are an arts and culture organization that can welcome school groups and are interested in being included in the database, CLICK HERE for the application.  

Science

University of Michigan Museum of Natural History

Ann Arbor Washtenaw

The University of Michigan Exhibit Museum offers an array of guided tours that include Dancing with the Dinosaurs, Prehistoric Explorers, Prehistoric Life, Rocks and Fossils, Behind the Scenes: Mammals, and Michigan Ecology. The Museum also offers theme based days called Learn It! Do It! Days. These are on specific dates and subjects include Dinosaurs, Wild Weather, Michigan Wildlife and Ecology, Bitterly Festival, along with others. The Planetarium is also open and offers a variety of topics and programs.

Science

Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum

Marquette Marquette

Hands-on fun formal or informal visits. Jim is willing to work with any teacher on a host of topics which can be taught through the museum’s exhibits.School groups are also welcome to have informal visits to the museum for self discovery.

Visual Arts

Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA)

Grand Rapids Kent

School Tours include docent led tours and hands-on experiences in our galleries and youth studio.

Instrumental Music

Warren Symphony Orchestra

Warren Oakland

The Warren Symphony Orchestra offers spring orchestra concerts geared specifically to children.

Visual Arts

Water Street Glassworks

Benton Harbor Berrien

Our qualified instructors will guide you through the exciting learning process of working in the fire arts. Learn to blow or cast molten glass, weld and hammer metal, form glass beads over a torch or create a colorful expression of yourself in our fusing, stained glass and mosaic studios. Select from a variety of classes in our course schedule or schedule a private experience for your group. All studios are open year round. The glassblowing studio takes a summer hiatus. Experience a fiery new side of you at Water Street Glassworks!

Instrumental Music

Wellspring

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo

Wellspring offers an alternative approach for children's and adult modern dance classes through its unique philosophy of teaching and learning from the "inside out" versus traditional methods of learning rote movements, copied from the outside. Students learn creativity, build strength, increase flexibility, improve coordination and learn the basics of body alignment and movement. In a relaxed and nurturing environment, Wellspring classes allow learners to feel safe and accepted as opposed to a competitive/team approach.

No previous dance experience is needed. Classes require no special attire, just comfortable clothing and bare feet. Classes are ongoing and students are welcome to join at any time during a semester.

Visual Arts

West Michigan Glass Society

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo

West Michigan Glass Society offers glass art workshops and demonstrations.Glass arts include glassblowing, flameworking, bead making, kiln fusing, sandblasting, and stained glass.

Instrumental Music

West Michigan Symphony

Muskegon Muskegon

Partner your school with the West Michigan Symphony Link Up program (a nationally recognized curriculum by Carnegie Hall) to bring music and melody to your classroom students in grades 3-5. Link Up is a year-long curriculum for music classrooms focusing (this year) on how music moves. Link Up draws on concert repertoire and culminates with students performing at the Frauenthal Theater in Muskegon. Students learn soprano recorder, sing, compose, meet musicians and perform together at the WMS Link Up Concert.

Dance, Instrumental Music, Theatre, Vocal Music

Wharton Center for Performing Arts

East Lansing Ingham

The Act One School Series provides curriculum-linked, performing arts enrichmentactivities for students in grades K-12. Shows produced by nationally touring youth theatre companies bring characters from history and literature to life in one-hour school-day matinees. The lecture-demonstration format of selected shows provides a perfect opportunity to introduce students to cultural music and dance artists from around the world.

Theatre

Wild Swan Theater

Ann Arbor Washtenaw

Wild Swan Theater offers a season of productions that are a mixture of classics such as Peter Rabbit, Charlotte’s Web, Treasure Island, and Little Women as well as collections of folktales from around the world. Complete details of each season can be found on Wild Swan's website.Wild Swan offers school day performances for all of the season productions—they are a wonderful way to introduce/reinforce stories with your classroom!