One of Detroit’s oldest institutions just came back to life. The Detroit Children’s Museum, founded in 1917 and closed to the general public for more than a decade, held its grand reopening Saturday at 6134 2nd Ave. Inside the doors that generations of Detroit kids walked through on school field trips: 2.5 million artifacts, new exhibits, and a promise that this time the public gets to stay.
“They will experience something very new,” said Kerrie Mitchell Campbell-Mabins, president and CEO of the Detroit Public Schools Community District Foundation, which oversees the museum. “So, if you visited over 15 years ago, it is not the same museum.”
How a Century-Old Museum Came Back
The Detroit Children’s Museum opened in 1917, which makes it the third-oldest operating children’s museum in the United States, according to the district. It moved several times before settling into its famous Kirby Street home in 1957, then its current 2nd Avenue building in 2001. Funding cuts closed it to the general public in the early 2010s. For years afterward it lived a quiet second life, lending artifacts to classrooms and hosting limited field trips until the pandemic curtailed even that in 2020.
The revival came through an $800,000 grant secured by the DPSCD Foundation. Saturday’s grand reopening ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with free admission and an 11 a.m. ribbon cutting. “This experience is going to be surreal,” Campbell-Mabins told WXYZ. “To finally see students back in the museum is something I’ve personally never seen.”
What Is Actually Inside
The scale surprises people. “There’s 2.5 million artifacts in this building. About 10,000 are on display right now,” said Don Bogart, the museum’s senior curator of collections, who has looked after the trove through the lean years and calls the museum his third child. The range runs wider than most visitors expect. “Here you can see everything from Yoda and Star Wars to rocks and minerals,” Bogart said.
The reopened galleries pair that historic collection with new exhibits, including a tour of the Middle Ages, a history of communications, and an Under the Sea display built around the museum’s seashell collection, plus an early learners’ exploration area. One note for nostalgic parents: the museum’s 1968 Spitz Planetarium is undergoing updates and will reopen later, per the district. “Who knows, maybe you’ll look at a manuscript from the 1300s and say, wow, I can do something like this,” Bogart said.
Hours, Cost, and How to Go
Here is the part to read before you load up the car. The museum sits at 6134 2nd Ave. near Amsterdam Street, just north of Wayne State in the TechTown area. Weekdays, Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., are built around school field trips. The general public’s best entry point is the free community day on the fourth Saturday of every month, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with art activities, interactive exhibits, and fossil digs.
Regular admission, per the district’s museum page, is $10 for adults, $5 for DPSCD parents, $5 for children ages 3 to 11 who are not DPSCD students, free for DPSCD students, and free for kids under 3. Since details can shift in a museum’s first weeks, confirm hours and pricing on the DPSCD museum page before you go. For more family outings, see our Things to Do coverage.
A Rare Detroit Comeback Story for Kids
Detroit has watched plenty of institutions close for good. This one waited out 15 years, kept its 2.5 million artifacts intact, and returned with its mission pointed squarely at the city’s kids, and with DPSCD students walking in free. For parents who remember the field trips, the best part of the reopening is simple. Now you can take your own kids. “It’s all about history,” Campbell-Mabins said. “Understanding things that happened in the past because it also affects the future.”
Detroit Children’s Museum FAQ
Is it open again?
Yes. The grand reopening was Saturday, July 25, 2026, at 6134 2nd Ave., under the DPSCD Foundation.
When can the public visit?
Free community days run the fourth Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., is geared to school field trips. Confirm on the district page.
How much does it cost?
Per the district: adults $10, DPSCD parents $5, non-DPSCD kids 3 to 11 $5, DPSCD students free, under 3 free. Fourth Saturdays are free.
What is inside?
About 2.5 million artifacts with roughly 10,000 on display, new exhibits on the Middle Ages, communications, and Under the Sea, and a 1968 Spitz Planetarium that is being updated and will reopen later.