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Grand Rapids Public Museum is my six and three-year-olds' favorite place to visit. Amazing, right? If they had the choice of going to the zoo, the children's museum or the Grand Rapids Public Museum, they would choose GRPM 90% of the time. Why? The museum has so many amazing exhibits, collections, and hands-on activities to offer people of all ages. It's also beautiful and affordable!The last time we went to the museum was at the beginning of November. We wanted to be sure to see the Design Zone exhibit before Bodies Revealed opened on the 16th. First of all, we were able to park in a parking garage and get our ticket validated by the museum for free parking. That already is a plus for me as a parent. A short walk across the street brings you to the museum. Children are free and Kent County residents get a discount, so it was only $10 for the four of us that day. The first floor of the museum has the gift shop and the museum's eclectic collection of popular items from the past. When one looks up at the tall ceiling, one sees the huge skeleton of the blue whale they call "Finny." My sons are always in amazement at how huge the whale would be and we imagine what we would feel if a whale swam up to us that was that big! The main floor also houses the mummies, prehistoric bones and fossils, the old town Grand Rapids shops that make you feel like you have stepped back into time, and many other very interesting collections. Often times they have lawn sized games to play and other interactive items for the patrons to touch-like the virtual reality Finny game. The second-floor houses not only the cafe and planetarium (a show anyone can view for an extra fee) but it houses the newest exhibits. When we were there in November we saw the Design Zone. It has various STEM games that allowed the patrons to learn about different mathematical, musical and scientific principles. Another part of the exhibit allowed one to mix their own music on a mix table, put on their own light show and various other music and show production aspects. It was great! My family spent a lot of time in this exhibit and my sons would have spent all day learning while having fun! Also on that floor is the Toys! Exhibit. This has been there for quite a time and I hope it remains for some time to come. It has toys from the last century throughout the room in untouchable scenes that made me smile from my own personal memories and other parts of the room where kids could play with the toys including, hot wheels race track, potato heads, a giant battleship game, giant Operation game, guessing the toy by touch and smell, a whole little house/kitchen area and arcade games! There were several spots to sit and rest while the kids played and explored. It is also on this floor that one can see how the giant wheel works, the ivory collection, coin collection, many other artifacts and a corner with different hands-on experiments with magnetism.The third-floor houses many very realistic scenes of our Michigan animals (taxidermy) in their natural habitat and a skeleton of a Mastodon found right here in Michigan as well. The first time we went and saw this collection, my sons were horrified thinking all the animals were killed for this collection. However, there was a sign that stated that the animals were donated to the museum after they were found killed in the wild by cars or other natural causes or were ill and had to be put down. Throughout the collection, one can learn about the different Michigan trees, see what their different layers look like and all about the animals shown. At the end of our visit, we usually head towards the Carousel. It is only $1 and the children love picking their animal and watching out the windows at the Grand River and the city buildings that surround the museum as they spin around and around. We are always excited and tired by the end of our visit, but eager to come back again and spend more time looking at everything. We will be going this month to see the Bodies Revealed Exhibit that allows one to see the various systems of the human body without skin! My son is a science lover and can't wait to go! The museum also offers affordable memberships for the whole family which allows the family to come as much as possible and enjoy other perks of being a museum member. For our family, it is definitely worth it! To learn more about the GRPM, you can visit the website below.