Flint Children’s Museum

At The Flint Children’s Museum, children of every age are encouraged to explore, play and learn!

There are over 40 hands-on educational and fun exhibits available at the museum.
The Nature Explore Classroom at The Flint Children’s Museum has been lovingly named Sproutside.
Our garden is the highlight of the Sproutside area.

This year our focus is on growing high yield plants to give the most access for children and families to harvest vegetables and take them home. The Cooking with Kids program is hosted in our building each Tuesday evening. During the summer, they take advantage of the vegetables in the garden and use them for cooking. The garden is an opportunity to teach children how plants grow, how to care for them, and when they’re ready to harvest, as well as offering a chance to take them home and try new foods.

Activities that are available in our exhibit focus on physical development on our tricycle track and
balance beams and science development in the erosion table and water rockets. We offer artistic outlets with our art wall, watercolor station, and outdoor xylophone. Social-emotional development can be honed at the baby washing station as children learn to care for others, as well as the positive affirmation area against the fence. We offer these activities daily in Sproutside.

In addition to our daily exhibits, children are given the opportunity to engage in messy play like foam
parties and mud days. We have special days throughout the month just for getting messy! Furthermore, we offer programming that coincides with our monthly theme. Children can be found sorting seeds from different vegetables, exploring the seeds in different fruits, trying different foods we grow in the garden, painting with dandelions, and much more!

Sproutside is not just an outdoor garden. It’s a community meeting space. We host our annual
fundraiser in the garden. Local donors can see the many exhibits we provide and learn about what children are learning through natural exploration. We host a CRIM Running club weekly in the summer, yoga classes and Jiu Jitsu demonstrations. We also have large community events like egg hunts in the spring.

In 2024 we were able to serve 45,000 families. We offer reduced pricing through Museums For All and our monthly sponsors who donate to allow those who utilize government food assistance programs to be admitted for free. We offer Family Membership Passes that allow a family access to the museum for the whole year for a one time fee. Families in our community enjoy having access to a safe, fenced in, and educational outdoor area.

Learn more about this classroom on their certification page!