Tours and Open Houses
Explore special behind-the-scenes guided tours and open houses of locations across MSU's campus.
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Explore Medical Laboratory Science!
Presented at the following times:
Saturday, April 1, 10:00 - 11:00 AM at North Kedzie Hall Main Entrance, Indoors
Saturday, April 1, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM at North Kedzie Hall Main Entrance, Indoors
Saturday, April 1, 1:00 - 2:00 PM at North Kedzie Hall Main Entrance, Indoors
Saturday, April 1, 2:00 - 3:00 PM at North Kedzie Hall Main Entrance, Indoors
Saturday, April 1, 3:00 - 4:00 PM at North Kedzie Hall Main Entrance, Indoors
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, High school age
Many people know their clinical specimens get sent to the medical laboratory, but what happens next? Who performs the testing, and how is it done? Take a tour of the Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics program and explore the different disciplines of the medical laboratory, do some hands on medical laboratory activities, and learn about the scientists who perform medical laboratory testing every day!
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Food Processing at MSU
Saturday, April 1, 10:00 - 11:00 AM at Trout Food Science and Human Nutrition Building Room 124
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Explore the MSU food processing complex, including the mobile food processing lab, a state-of-the-art food-grade facility that recently underwent a $4.4 million renovation funded by the State of Michigan. This facility is used for student education, research, conducting small-scale processing and recipe optimization, and collaborating with industry. The mobile food processing lab is a one-of-a-kind creation capable of operating a wide range of food processing equipment to produce a variety of finished food products that include blanching, pasteurizing, canning, drying, washing, cutting, and many other operations.
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Laser Tweezers: Reach Out and Grab Bacteria! Tour
Saturday, April 1, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM at Biomedical and Physical Sciences Room B148
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Discover the latest in technology that allows us to see and interact with individual cells and molecules. Try your hand with our microscope at a technique called ‘optical tweezers’ using lasers to catch and grab hold of live cells and interact with them.
Learn more about Laser Tweezers: Reach Out and Grab Bacteria! Tour
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Beaumont Tower Tours
Presented at the following times:
Saturday, April 1, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM at Beaumont Tower Main Entrance
Sunday, April 2, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM at Beaumont Tower Main Entrance
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Come climb the 74 steps of Beaumont Tower! Learn about the tower's history and see how the carillon is played.
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Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM): Demonstration and Practice
Saturday, April 1, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM at Fee Hall East, Room E106
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Interested in learning about osteopathic medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM)? Join our own DO, Dr. J'Aimee Lippert who will provide an OMM demonstration and walk participants through practicing on each other!
Learn more about Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM): Demonstration and Practice
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Exploring the Rachana Rajendra Bird Sanctuary
Saturday, April 1, 12:00 - 3:00 PM at Baker Woodlot Bogue Street Entrance
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
The Rachana Rajendra Neotropical Migrant Bird Sanctuary is home to a diverse ecosystem of plants, animals, and microorganisms. Located in the Baker Woodlot property on campus, the sanctuary provides an urban refuge for wildlife and people to enjoy year-round. Experience this hidden gem while learning about its inhabitants and what makes it such a special place.
Learn more about Exploring the Rachana Rajendra Bird Sanctuary
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Explore the Amazing World of Insects at the MSU Bug House!
Saturday, April 1, 1:00 - 4:00 PM at Natural Science Building Room 147
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Don't miss your chance to meet and handle live beetles, cockroaches, millipedes, and more at the MSU Bug House. Observe museum displays featuring over a thousand preserved insects from around the globe and ask our knowledgeable guides all your burning insect biology questions!
Learn more about Explore the Amazing World of Insects at the MSU Bug House!
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History of STEM at MSU Pop-up Exhibit at MSU Libraries
Saturday, April 1, 1:00 - 3:00 PM at Main Library First Floor West, Reading Room
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Learn about the history of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at MSU during the University Archives & Historical Collections pop-up exhibit! Visitors will be able to see and touch scrapbooks, photographs, diaries, and other historical items from the 1860s through the 1980s. This is a unique opportunity to see gems of the Archives’ collections, and to meet and talk with the University’s archivists who care for over 165 years of MSU history.
Learn more about History of STEM at MSU Pop-up Exhibit at MSU Libraries
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Makerspace Open House at MSU Libraries
Saturday, April 1, 1:00 - 3:00 PM at Main Library 2nd Floor West, Makerspace
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Tour the MSU Libraries Hollander Makerspace! The Makerspace is an alternative learning environment and gathering space that encourages cross-discipline collaboration, experimentation, and learning. See a variety of 3D printers in action and learn about our technologies which are available to the public. Explore a digital Minecraft version of the library using a credit card-sized computer, the Raspberry Pi, which can be checked out from our lending collection!
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Media Breakdown: Tales of Deterioration on Audiovisual Collections and Their Historical Comebacks at MSU Libraries
Saturday, April 1, 1:00 - 3:00 PM at Main Library Third Floor West, Beal Instruction Room W326
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Legacy audiovisual formats such as motion picture film, magnetic tape, and optical media contain audio and moving image recordings of important events. Over time, the materials on which these instances are stored experience chemical breakdowns such as “sticky shed syndrome” (binder breakdown), mold, and “vinegar syndrome” (acetate decay). The Media Preservation Unit at MSU Libraries will show different examples of deterioration on various audiovisual formats and discuss methods of dealing with deterioration in order to provide greater access of the recorded content to the Spartan community and the public.
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MSU Museum Collaborative Art Workshop
Saturday, April 1, 1:00 - 2:30 PM at MSU Museum Auditorium
Pre-register at https://bit.ly/Art_MSUM
Requires pre-registration
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Join others to help make a community art piece inspired by religious sounds from the Sounds of Religion exhibition. No art experience is needed; all materials will be provided. Come ready to express yourself and have fun! Recommended for ages 10-adult.
This program is in conjunction with the Sounds of Religion exhibition on view in the Ground Floor Gallery at the MSU Museum from January 27 – June 30, 2023. Read More Here: https://museum.msu.edu/?exhibition=american-religious-sounds
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On the Banks of the Red Cedar: Restoring the Riverbank
Saturday, April 1, 1:00 - 2:00 PM at Beal Botanical Garden Beal Pond & Shed
Pre-register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/on-the-banks-of-the-red-cedar-restoring-the-riverbank-tickets-567031003997
Requires pre-registration
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Those familiar lyrics resonate with all of us. Have you ever noticed how steep the bank is along the river? With flooding events, the river has been scouring out soil and exposing tree roots. In the last five years, we’ve put an emphasis on restoring and stabilizing the riverbank on campus. We’re removing invasive shrubs and restoring with Michigan native plants. Join us for a walk and discussion on the restoration efforts of the Red Cedar Riverbank.
Learn more about On the Banks of the Red Cedar: Restoring the Riverbank
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Print Your Own Butterfly Postcard at MSU Libraries
Saturday, April 1, 1:00 - 3:00 PM at Main Library First Floor, South Lobby
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Print a butterfly postcard with a woodcut illustration from Special Collections! Our antique iron handpress is the same basic mechanism as a Gutenberg printing press. Then go around the corner for a pop-up exhibit of rare entomology books, and learn how butterflies and dragonflies migrate long distances.
Learn more about Print Your Own Butterfly Postcard at MSU Libraries
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Rare Books on Butterflies and Dragonflies at MSU Libraries
Saturday, April 1, 1:00 - 3:00 PM at Main Library First Floor, West Lobby Special Collections Classroom
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Insects make some of the longest migrations in the animal kingdom, traveling across the globe in search of food, habitats, and mates. MSU Libraries' Special Collections has many rare and antique books that have been used to study these migrations throughout history. Discover how entomologists used these books and illustrations to learn about migratory insects, trace their routes across the globe, and color some insects of your own!
Learn more about Rare Books on Butterflies and Dragonflies at MSU Libraries
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Seeing is Believing: Using Multispectral Imaging to Reveal the Unseeable in Art and Cultural Heritage at MSU Libraries
Saturday, April 1, 1:00 - 3:00 PM at Main Library Second Floor West, Digital Scholarship Lab
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Have you ever wanted to look into the past and see the unseeable? Want to know how a regular camera makes an image that mimics human vision? Now you can! Watch MSU librarians and Rochester Institute of Technology’s Color and Imaging scientists demonstrate exciting new technologies helping cultural heritage institutions in novel ways. In the first demonstration, one type of multispectral imaging utilizes wavelengths invisible to eyesight, to reveal faded or worn texts and colors from ancient items. In the second demonstration, color science turns a regular camera into another type of multispectral camera to reproduce art matching human eyesight.
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What Are We Made Of?
Saturday, April 1, 1:00 - 3:00 PM at Main Library 2nd Floor West, Digital Scholarship Lab 360 Room
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Experience materials of the future at the microscopic level. This 360-degree exhibit will showcase the stories of renewable, regenerative materials that are resilient under a range of environmental and human-made stressors. Thus they could allow humans and nature to coexist in harmony.
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MSU Geography Trivia Challenge
Saturday, April 1, 1:30 - 2:00 PM at Geography Building North Outdoor Sidewalk
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Test your knowledge of MSU geography to see if you can win a prize! This outdoor trivia challenge will allow you to explore the area around the MSU Geography building - Phillips Hall, Snyder Hall, and more.
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AI Sonic Art Workshop
Sunday, April 2, 1:00 - 3:00 PM at Main Library 2nd Floor West, Digital Scholarship Lab classroom
Pre-register at https://bit.ly/Sound_AI
Requires pre-registration
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Have you heard the AI bot creepily ‘singing’ the song ‘Jolene’? Artificial intelligence initially arose to automate mundane tasks and computations, but lately it’s been making waves in creative spheres. This brings up questions about intellectual property, ethical use of technology, bias in algorithms, and the nature of creativity itself. The MSU Museum CoLab Studio invites you to join us as we explore text-to-sound generative AI, learn how to use the algorithms, and grapple with the future implications of this technology. This hands-on workshop will be led by Mark Sullivan, a practicing photographer, composer, and the creative director of the Museum CoLab Studio.
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Beneath the Pines: MSU Native Tree Walk
Sunday, April 2, 1:00 - 2:00 PM at Beal Botanical Garden Beal Pond & Shed
Pre-register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beneath-the-pines-msu-native-tree-walk-tickets-566981836937
Requires pre-registration
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Ever wonder what trees we have on campus, and which ones are native to Michigan? Join Plant Recorder Carolyn Miller as she guides you around campus learning about how to ID our native trees and where to find them. In addition, she will introduce you to the MSU Campus Virtual Tree Map, where you can find all the trees on campus!
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Don't Underestimate the Weather - How Weather and Climate Affect Agriculture
Sunday, April 2, 1:00 - 2:00 PM at Enviroweather Field Office 4345 South Hagadorn Road Building F Okemos, MI 48864
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Weather is very important for agriculture, and the trends we are seeing in our climate will also affect what we grow and how we grow it. Learn about how we measure the weather, and how that can be used to help growers make management decisions on their farms. See different types of weather stations at our facility and learn about how weather affects insects and diseases.
Learn more about Don't Underestimate the Weather - How Weather and Climate Affect Agriculture
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Exploring Ethnobotany and our Relationships with Plants
Presented at the following times:
Sunday, April 2, 1:00 - 1:45 PM at Beal Botanical Garden Beal Pond & Shed
Pre-register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/exploring-ethnobotany-and-our-relationships-with-plants-tickets-566928687967
Requires pre-registration
Sunday, April 2, 2:00 - 2:45 PM at Beal Botanical Garden Beal Pond & Shed
Pre-register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/exploring-ethnobotany-and-our-relationships-with-plants-tickets-566928687967
Requires pre-registration
Sunday, April 2, 3:00 - 3:45 PM at Beal Botanical Garden Beal Pond & Shed
Pre-register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/exploring-ethnobotany-and-our-relationships-with-plants-tickets-566928687967
Requires pre-registration
Appropriate for: High school age, Over 21 years only
Ethnobotany is the study of the relationship between plants and people and there is nowhere better to explore than in MSU’s own Botanical Garden! This tour is designed to get you thinking about your own relationship with plants from your chemical dependency on coffee every morning to hating the smell of boiled brussels sprouts!
Learn more about Exploring Ethnobotany and our Relationships with Plants
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Inside the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory: Disease Detectives at Work
Sunday, April 2, 2:00 - 3:30 PM at Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Lobby
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Middle school age, High school age
Animals can't tell you when they're sick or point to where it hurts. Come learn how veterinarians and laboratory technologists help to diagnose disease. At the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, we have unique expertise in safeguarding the health of companion animals, livestock, wildlife, and people. Test your knowledge with a chance to investigate and diagnose cases!
Learn more about Inside the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory: Disease Detectives at Work
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Potter Park Zoo: An Evening of Awesome, Interactive Experiences at a Living Museum
Friday, April 7, 5:00 - 8:00 PM at Potter Park Zoo 1301 South Pennsylvania Avenue Lansing, MI 48912
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Join Potter Park Zoo staff, zookeepers, and volunteers as we explore the natural world!
View the microscopic world as a scientist; try your hand at a simulated veterinary lab; learn how to be an animal chef with our zookeepers; test your skull-matching skills; discover some amazing things about bats; find out how to be a conservation champion; have an up-close encounter with our live ambassador animals; and so much more! Selected exhibits will also be open for our guests to explore.Learn more about Potter Park Zoo: An Evening of Awesome, Interactive Experiences at a Living Museum
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Skeletons, Jaws, and Jars: A Tour of the MSU Museum Vertebrate Collections
Presented at the following times:
Friday, April 14, 1:00 - 1:30 PM at MSU Museum Lobby
Pre-register at https://113145.blackbaudhosting.com/113145/Skeletons-Jaws-and-Jars-A-Tour-of-the-MSU-Museum-Vertebrate-Collections
Requires pre-registration
Friday, April 14, 1:45 - 2:15 PM at MSU Museum Lobby
Pre-register at https://113145.blackbaudhosting.com/113145/Skeletons-Jaws-and-Jars-A-Tour-of-the-MSU-Museum-Vertebrate-Collections-14Apr2023
Requires pre-registration
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Take a guided, behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum's vertebrate collections, where over 117,000 specimens of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and fossils are preserved and cared for. See biodiversity specimens that have been used for discovery and learning over the past 165 years. Explore unique and rare materials that are difficult or impossible to find elsewhere!
Learn more about Skeletons, Jaws, and Jars: A Tour of the MSU Museum Vertebrate Collections
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MSU Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Open House
Saturday, April 22, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM at Farrall Agricultural Engineering Hall Machine Shop
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Join the Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department for fun hands-on activities and demonstrations!
Demonstrations:
• Apple harvester
• Drainage demonstration
• Torrefaction
• Algal bioreactors
Hands-on activities:
• Stream restoration activity
• Microscope with nanoparticles, microscopic worms, and WolffiaLearn more about MSU Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Open House
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Butterflies in the Garden
Saturday, April 29, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM at MSU Horticulture Gardens Butterfly Flight House
Appropriate for: Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
See butterflies up close at the MSU Horticulture Gardens Indoor 4-H Children's Garden!
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Getting to the Root of Botany: Behind the Scenes in the MSU Herbarium
Saturday, April 29, 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM at Plant Biology Laboratories Herbarium
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Middle school age, High school age, Over 21 years only
Join us in the MSU Herbarium and Plant Biology Teaching Conservatory for behind-the-scenes tours and activities that bring the story of a museum specimen to life. This is a first-hand opportunity to experience how an Herbarium stewards knowledge about plant biodiversity. From a living plant to a preserved one, learn about what herbarium specimens are, where they come from, and some of the unique ways they’re used by researchers right here at MSU.
Learn more about Getting to the Root of Botany: Behind the Scenes in the MSU Herbarium