Behind the Scenes Tours and Open Houses
Take a special behind-the-scenes look at local museums, gardens, archives, labs, and research facilities.
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Dig in! Help Root Out Invasive Plants at Baker Woodlot
Saturday, April 6, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM at Baker Woodlot and Rajendra Neotropical Migrant Bird Sanctuary
Appropriate for: Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above
Join the Beal Botanical Garden to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the campus arboretum by giving Baker Woodlot some spring love! Participants will learn all about this important work and help remove woody shrubs, vines, and herbaceous invasive plants such as garlic mustard.
Learn more about Dig in! Help Root Out Invasive Plants at Baker Woodlot
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Biosystems Engineering Open House: Solving Problems in Food, Health, Energy, and Environmental Systems
Saturday, April 6, 12:00 - 4:00 PM at Farrall Agricultural Engineering Hall 129A
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above
Biosystems engineers combine biology, math, and design to solve problems related to food, health, energy, and the environment. Explore how engineers benefit society by touring a laboratory where technology to kill pathogens is engineered. See biological sensors that can detect disease and examine the world's smallest flowering the plant under a microscope. Visit an engineered reactor that converts renewable biomass into fuel, learning how it works from its designer. Get your hands dirty restoring a model river using ecological engineering techniques. Learn how robotics are used to improve agricultural production of fruits. Chat with both students and professors about Biosystems Engineering.
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Explore Medical Laboratory Science!
Saturday, April 13, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM at North Kedzie Hall North Lobby
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above
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? Tour 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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Get an Inside Look at Beaumont Tower!
Presented at the following times:
Saturday, April 13, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM at Beaumont Tower
Sunday, April 14, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM at Beaumont Tower
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above
Join student organization Tower Guard and get an inside look at Beaumont Tower! Members will give you the history and neat facts about each floor and lead you to the very top. There, you will meet MSU's carillonist and learn about the 49 bells. Listen closely and you might hear the MSU fight song!
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Earth Bash @ MSU Recycling
Saturday, April 13, 12:00 - 4:00 PM at MSU Recycling Center
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above
Join us for a family-friendly event focused on reducing waste by practicing the principles of a circular economy.
Tour the recycling center and vermicompost hoop house. Get creative with Spartan Upcycle. Freecycle clothing and books. Learn how and why to do a home waste audit. Engage with other campus groups, and more!
Hosted in partnership with the MSU Office of Sustainability, MSU Student Life & Engagement and Eco Reps, MSUVote, and MSU PIRGM, the campus chapter of the student-run Public Interest Research Group.
RSVP encouraged but not required. Visit bit.ly/earthbash2024
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Blood, Bones, and Brains: Inside the Body with the Anatomage 3D Table at MSU Libraries
Saturday, April 13, 1:00 - 4:00 PM at MSU Main Library Digital Scholarship Lab
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above
This is your chance to “go inside” the body, identifying bones, organs, and systems! The Anatomage Table is the only fully segmented real human 3D anatomy platform and is the most technologically advanced 3D anatomy visualization and virtual dissection tool. You'll get a chance to view and interact with the other 3D visualizations, including reptiles, mammals, birds, and even see inside a scanned mummy!
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Get a Backstage Pass to the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB)
Saturday, April 20, 1:15 - 2:00 PM at Abrams Planetarium
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above
Explore a world-class rare isotope laboratory where nuclei are smashed into a target at half the speed of light! Our new 1500-foot-long linear accelerator and the research spaces inside MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) will be revealed with images, 3D models, and animations projected on the dome. Our “virtual tour” takes you to many locations that would normally be inaccessible!
Learn more about Get a Backstage Pass to the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB)
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Campfire Science Night
Friday, April 26, 6:00 - 9:00 PM at Woldumar Nature Center 5739 Old Lansing Rd Lansing, MI 48917
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above
Gather around the campfire for a fun evening of s’mores, hikes, and exciting hands-on activities at Woldumar Nature Center. Take a hike, dissect an owl pellet, work on identifying trees, and more! We’ll end the night with a colorful fire presentation around the campfire, so come join us to learn more about the nature that’s right in our backyards! Presented by Woldumar Nature Association and Graduate Women in Science Mid-Michigan.
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Ecology Extravaganza at Corey Marsh
Saturday, April 27, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM at Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center 9422 Herbison Rd Laingsburg, MI 48848
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above
MSU’s Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center (CMERC) is a hub for natural resources education, research, and public engagement located just 20 minutes from campus. Join us for an exciting morning of bird banding, animal demonstrations, hands-on activities for all ages, guided marsh exploration, and more! You can also learn more about citizen science and how to be a scientist in your own backyard.
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Celebrate the Recovery of Endangered Species with Printmaking and Poetry
Saturday, April 27, 1:00 - 4:00 PM at MSU Museum Science on a Sphere Gallery
Appropriate for: Kindergarten and Pre-K, Elementary school age, Middle school age, High school age, 18 years and above
Create your own linocut prints of animals and plants on a small hand-powered printing press and write poems to celebrate the recovery of these species. View a Science On a Sphere projection, featuring species recently removed from the endangered species list. Printmaker Samantha Earley and public poetry artist Nancy DeJoy will create images for the projection and help all participants create their own pieces of art to take home. Explore our amazing Earth with this and other arts-based activities.
Learn more about Celebrate the Recovery of Endangered Species with Printmaking and Poetry