Museums, Libraries, and Collections

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Join us for Six-Legged Saturdays on the third Saturday of each month, a free, family-friendly event held alongside the Bug House’s monthly open house. Each program features an insect-themed craft, engaging story time, and hands-on activities designed to spark curiosity and introduce young audiences to science in a fun, welcoming environment. Guests can also choose to safely interact with live insects, though participation in insect handling is completely optional. 

Learn more about Six-Legged Saturday

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Explore the vital connection between our local landscape and the pollinators that sustain it with the Beal Botanical Garden. In this hands-on, family-friendly drop-in program, you’ll learn how native Michigan wildflowers provide essential food and habitat for bees and butterflies. Participants will craft seed bombs to beautify and rewild their community, support local biodiversity, and provide a much-needed boost to the tiny heroes that keep our environment thriving. 

Learn more about Ready, Set, Grow!

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Comics are a great way to communicate science – and scientsts make great comics! Stop by the Special Collections Seminar Room in the Main Library to see some of the most awesome, amazing, and scientifically accurate comic books featured in our Special Collections. Take a special bird comic home with you!

Learn more about Comics and Science

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Tour the banks of the Red Cedar and learn about the environmental history of the river at the heart of MSU’s campus. This 1.2-mile round-trip walk will start at the MSU Main Library and loop from the Kalamazoo Street Bridge to Farm Lane and back, with stops to describe some interesting historical and environmental features of the river. Please wear comfortable shoes (in case of rain, the program will be inside the Main Library).

Learn more about Red Cedar River Environmental History Walking Tour

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

The Digital Scholarship Lab will be hosting a series of activities that will give visitors an opportunity to reflect upon and learn about the significance of forests and trees through Virtual Reality (VR) and other immersive technology. In the 360 Room, artist and scholar Hailey Becker will share an immersive artwork titled: “Where the Light Gets In: Engaging the Community about Tree Removal on Campus.” Supplies will be on hand for visitors of all ages to create collages of real and imaginary forests and then display their creations in the 360 Room. In the VR Room, members of a research team led by forestry professors Emily Huff and Samantha Gailey will be on hand to discuss their study into how people respond to different forest types in VR. Visitors will be given an opportunity to explore different forest landscapes and learn about the benefits of spending time with trees in real life.

Learn more about Seeing the Forest for the Trees in VR and IRL

Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above

Travel through the MSU Library on an adventure of discovery and stack your stamps! Stop at one of three tables featuring a different library resource and get your card stamped. Start at our antique iron printing press that uses the same basic mechanism as the Gutenberg printing press! With each new stamp, a new superhero of science is revealed. Collect them all!

Learn more about Stacked Stamps

Appropriate for: High school age, 18 years and above

We interact with salt every day. It plays an essential role in cooking, medicine, and de-icing roads. Come explore salt as a powerful, accessible symbol for ecosystem awareness and the ongoing interactions between humans and their environment. Supported by the 2025 a2ru Emerging Creatives Challenge Grant in collaboration with the MSU Museum, this interdisciplinary workshop features sonic and visual storytelling where art meets geology. Through co-creation of an Indian salt painting and a crankie theater performance with music, explore the ripple effect of a tiny grain of salt.

Please register for this event through the registration link!

Learn more about Explore the Ripple Effect of a Tiny Grain of Salt