The Museum is deeply grateful for Dale’s dedication and commitment to this institution and its community.
Continue readingThe Grand Rapids Public Museum Announces 2026 Retirement of Dale Robertson, President and CEO
The GRPM and Resurgence Partner to Empower Youth Through After-School Program
Bringing the Digital Collections into memory care.
Continue readingA Walk Down Memory Lane: A GRPM Volunteer’s Brilliant Use of the Museum’s Online Digital Collections
Bringing the Digital Collections into memory care.
Continue readingThe Astronomical Event of the Year: A Solar Eclipse at the GRPM
Everybody was a stargazer during the 2024 solar eclipse.
Continue readingMuseum People: Volunteers Make History Come Alive
Volunteers facilitate learning experiences, experiments, and workshops that inspire curiosity and wonder in thousands of visitors.
Continue readingRealizing Dreams at Camp Curious
One students dream of becoming an exhibit designer brought him across the state to the GRPM.
Continue readingCelebrating the Mastodon: See Our New National Fossil at the GRPM!
The Mastodon has officially been declared the National Fossil of the United States of America! The National Fossil Act, introduced by Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Mike Braun (R-IN), passed unanimously.
“Michigan made history when we uncovered one of the most complete skeletons of the Mastodon ever found, and we continue to find traces of this prehistoric giant all throughout our state,” said Senator Peters. “The Mastodon represents a unique piece of both Michigan’s and our nation’s history. By establishing the Mastodon as our national fossil, we can better preserve that history and inspire a new generation of scientists and researchers to continue their pursuit of discovery.”
We couldn’t agree more!
Wait, What’s a Mastodon?
Mastodons are related to modern day elephants. Now extinct, they lived here in Michigan during the Ice Age, with the oldest mastodon fossil found in North America having lived 3.75 million years ago. They stood 8-11 feet tall at the shoulder and they weighed between four and seven tons.
You may have also heard of mammoths, a similar extinct species that lived around the same time as the mastodon. Mammoths were a bit taller than mastodons, but one striking distinction between the two is the shape of their teeth. Mammoth teeth feature many short ridges, perfect for grinding down grasses. Mastodon teeth have much longer, conical ridges for eating leaves and more woody material. Check out this comparison:
Mastodons at the GRPM
In August 2022, the GRPM received a donation of juvenile mastodon bones discovered near Kent City, Michigan. Known as the Clapp Family Mastodon, these bones were excavated by a dedicated team from the Museum and the University of Michigan, led by Dr. Cory Redman, the GRPM’s Science Curator. They are currently drying at the Museum’s collections storage facility.
Learn more about the Clapp Family Mastodon here.
The Clapp Family Mastodon is not our only mastodon! The skull and tusks of a mastodon called Smitty can be spotted in the F is for Fossils exhibit on the Museum’s first floor. Smitty was discovered in Grandville in the 1985 and given to the Museum by Grand Valley State University in 1990. Scientists could determine quite a bit from these bones. We know Smitty lived into his early 30’s and died in the fall.
Additionally, the Moorland Mastodon is stored in the Museum’s Collections. Found near Ravenna, Michigan, this incomplete Mastodon was merged with bones found in Florida to create a more complete display. This combination of two mastodon specimens was on exhibit around the turn of the 20th century when the Museum was still called the Kent Scientific Institute.
One of our third floor exhibits gives visitors a feel for what the Kent Scientific Institute looked like. It features a cast mastodon specimen from the Illinois State Museum alongside bird and mineral specimens, just as the Moorland Mastodon would have looked in the early 1900s.
We are so happy to celebrate this ancient giant’s importance in our natural history. Visit us to see our Mastodon specimens and learn more about these magnificent creatures.
The Great Eclipse of 2024 at the Grand Rapids Public Museum with WOOD TV8
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On Monday, April 8, 2024, a portion of the United States will be treated to a rare and awe-inspiring sight. As the Sun, Moon, and Earth travel along their usual paths, they will perfectly align for just a few hours. The Moon will pass between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow and sending some cities into twilight-like darkness in the middle of the day. This is a solar eclipse!
The English word eclipse comes from the Greek word “ekleipsis” meaning “to abandon an accustomed place.” Explanations for this strange phenomenon appear in myths and legends. Stories of animals or gods swallowing the Sun can be found in several cultures around the globe.
Of course, now we know that the Sun remains in its same steadfast position, over 90 million miles from the Earth. While the Moon and Sun vary vastly in size with the Moon approximately 400 times smaller, the Sun is around the same multiple farther away from the Earth than the Moon. This is why they appear the same size in the sky and overlap so perfectly during an eclipse— something that doesn’t happen anywhere else in the solar system!
The moment of total eclipse is the only time viewers can look without protective eyewear. The view is particularly extraordinary because the Sun’s corona is visible to the naked eye. Per NASA, the Sun’s corona is the outermost part of the Sun’s atmosphere and is actually hotter than the Sun’s surface. Reaching out into the darkness of space, particles fly through the Sun’s magnetic fields creating streamers, loops, and plumes. These stunning wispy features, usually overpowered by the denser layers of the Sun, are spectacularly on display in a total eclipse.
Here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, we aren’t in the path of totality, but we can see as much as 94% coverage of the Sun by the Moon. That means if you’re viewing the Eclipse with us at the GRPM, you will need special eye protection to avoid permanent damage for the full length of the eclipse. You can purchase eclipse glasses for $1.75 in the GRPM’s Curiosity Shop.
The partial solar eclipse in Grand Rapids starts at about 1:55 p.m. It will achieve maximum coverage at 3:11 p.m. and end at 4:26 p.m. Depending on the weather, we can expect to see a surreal shift in the light outside and crescent-shaped shadows wherever light streams through small spaces, like through tree leaves or colanders.
The GRPM will be hosting a Solar Eclipse Viewing Party with activities both inside and outside. Inside activities will require the purchase of a general admission ticket, and outside activities are free to the public.
On the Blue Bridge, just outside the Museum, visitors can peer into solar telescopes with GRPM’s planetarium team members and volunteers from the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association.
Inside the Museum, visitors can watch live streams from the path of totality in the Meijer Theater with commentary from Museum staff, supported by WOOD TV8. Additionally, the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium will offer a special eclipse day schedule of shows and community partners will exhibit throughout the Museum with astronomy-themed learning activities.
Get your general admission tickets for our indoor events on April 8 today for a seamless entry to the Museum. We can’t wait to see you for this once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event.
Sponsored By
High School Students Investigate the Health of the Grand River Watershed with the GRPM
Each school year at Grand Rapids Public Museum High School, 9th-grade students gear up for The Neighborhood Project, a place-based, interdisciplinary research project focused on challenges facing downtown Grand Rapids. Choosing either a social or environmental issue, students look at existing research, interview Grand Rapidians, conduct field studies and connect with community partners and experts to get a better understanding of their city.
This year, Ashleigh, Avery, Bryn, Erik, Grayson, Mikayla, and Vaida turned their attention to the health of the Grand River Watershed in the past, present, and future.
These students conducted hands-on research into the water quality, getting right down to the waterline to test Nitrate levels. They interviewed experts at the West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC), Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds (LGROW), and attendees at the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum meeting hosted at John Ball Zoo. They also had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Stephanie Ogren, Vice President of Science and Education at the GRPM, to learn from relevant exhibits and research initiatives at the Museum.
The group of students concluded that significant progress has been made to improve the health of the Grand River and that many organizations and initiatives are moving Grand Rapids towards further sustainability and reduced pollution.
When they had completed their work, students reached out to the GRPM to see if we would support their learning by sharing their research findings with a larger audience. We were very impressed at the depth of their learning and the variety of research techniques they used to address their issue. Of course, we were delighted to share.
The GRPM is proud to ignite students’ curiosity about their local waterways and water conservation. We are currently in the process of an Expansion Project that will allow additional access to the Grand River, enabling us to provide even more educational opportunities to visiting and local students just outside our doors. This project is an excellent example of how powerful firsthand encounters with our natural world can be to encourage engaged learning.
Check out the video Ashleigh, Avery, Bryn, Erik, Grayson, Mikayla, and Vaida created together:
You can also see their group presentation here: