Grand Rapids Children's Museum to offer free admission

Art

Jul 21

Written By Staff

Photo courtesy of Grand Rapids Children’s Museum

The Grand Rapids Children’s Museum (GRCM) is offering families free admission to celebrate the power of PLAY at the 8th Annual Day of Play Celebration on Sunday, July 26, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Food trucks will be on-site with tasty treats for purchase like Cheezy Duz-It, Kona Ice of West Grand Rapids, Neeks Creationz, and Garcia’s Street Dogs.

Dozens of community partners will offer hands-on activities throughout the day, including: Air Zoo, Avant Theatre Ballet, Bricks & Minifigs Grand Rapids, Children's Healing Center, Family Futures, Goldfish Swim School, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, Grand Rapids Pride Center, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Grand Rapids Symphony, Head Start for Kent County, Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, Hopelynd, John Ball Zoo, Justice 4 All, Kent County Health Department, Main Event Grand Rapids, Mathnasium, Michigan Education Trust (MET), Michigan Science Center, Michigan State College of Human Medicine, National Heritage Academies, Opera Tots, The Common Thread Studio, THE PLAYGROUNDgr, Van Andel Arena, Vibrant Futures, and more!

Highlights include:

Strolling Bubble Fairies from Michigan Bubble Fun
Face Painting by Maile Whipple
Foam Party with Foam GR (bring a towel & wear something you don’t mind getting wet!)
Live drumming with local musician Josh Dunigan
Create art with Dorelle Henri, an artist from the GRCM Summer Artist-In-Residence Program
Design-your-own birthday crown
Sensory Tent for calm, quiet play and cool-down
Enter to win giveaways at the GRCM info booth
Special mascot appearances from Whoodini (MET)
Professional event photography by Julie Balgavy throughout the day
Create with the Artists Creating Together (ACT) Creative Cube
Visit the Kent District Library Bookmobile and the Grand Rapids Public Library Mobile Library Unit

Schedule at a Glance:

11 a.m. – Museum opens and festivities begin
11 a.m. – 2 p.m. – Bubble Fairies
11 a.m. – 3 p.m. – Face Painting
3 – 4 p.m. – Foam Party on Rainbow Road
4 p.m– Event ends and museum closes

Day of Play is supported by Plummers Disposal and Battlegr Tactical Games (Foam GR). This project is funded in part by Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Michigan Arts and Culture Council. For more information, visit: https://www.grcm.org/day-of-play-2026

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