New $30-million museum is a bold transformation into a world-class, fully interactive museum of science, history and hands-on learning for the community
Flint, MI – After nearly five years of planning and construction, the new Sloan Museum of Discovery will re-open to the public for a Grand Opening weekend July 16-17, 2022, in Flint, Michigan. The 107,000 square foot museum features four science, history and hands-on learning exhibits. The $30 million expansion and renovation of the museum was re-imagined as an inclusive center for the entire community and is expected to draw visitors from across the Midwest to Flint. Due to the Genesee County Arts Education and Cultural Millage that was passed in 2018, general admission is free to Genesee County residents.
The museum includes a new hands-on science gallery, Discovery Hall, that allows visitors to fully engage in earth and physical science exploration. It features a dramatic multi-story Spaceship Earth climbing structure, The Discovery Lab maker space, and The Great Lakes Water Table, among many other interactives.
The Durant Gallery:
An extension of the History Gallery is the auto exhibition area – newly named The Durant Gallery as part of a partnership with General Motors. At 11,000 square feet, The Durant Gallery will display Sloan’s collection of rare vehicles chronicling Flint’s rich industrial history, as well as the future of the automobile.
The new History Gallery showcases the lives of Genesee County’s inhabitants from early Native Americans through current day. Artifacts pulled from Sloan’s extensive collection help residents’ stories come alive. The gallery also includes interactives. For instance, visitors will be able to step on Story Stones to hear the voices and see the faces of people from the community.
“We have been extremely mindful to make galleries inclusive and flexible so that displays can change frequently,” noted Curator of Collections Geoff Woodcox.
Hagerman Street Early Childhood Learning Gallery will prepare kids for kindergarten through play-centric exploration. This child-sized neighborhood allows children to immerse themselves with imaginative play and educational activities, including a three-story tree house, an ambulance, shops and roundabouts for tricycles.
The Fun Gallery Exhibition Hall:
This 24-foot-high gallery space will accommodate special touring exhibits, starting July 2023.
Community Spaces:
Coffee Beanery Café, a Michigan-based franchise, is open for the public in the main lobby adjacent to a full-service catering kitchen. Community rooms and multi-purpose rooms allow for birthdays, weddings, business workshops and group meetings.
Memphis based Haizlip Studio created the building design. Flint-based THA Architects Engineers oversaw the architecture, while General Contractor E&L was responsible for the construction. Xibitz, a special exhibit construction firm out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, handled the exhibit design and fabrication. The $30-million project has been supported by grants and donations from foundations, businesses, individuals and state government. Major supporters include the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, State of Michigan, GM Corporate Giving and the Hagerman Foundation. Millage funding helps support operating and program expenses and allows free general admission for all Genesee County residents.
The Sloan Museum of Discovery is located at 1221 E. Kearsley Street, Flint, Michigan. Visitors can go to www.SloanMuseum.org for tickets or more information.
About Sloan Museum of Discovery
Sloan Museum of Discovery and Longway Planetarium are overseen by the non-profit Flint Institute of Science and History with a shared mission to engage communities on a learning journey in history and science. Located within the Flint Cultural Center Campus in Flint, Michigan, Sloan Museum of Discovery will open July 16, 2022, with four primary hands-on learning galleries and one exhibition hall for special traveling exhibits. The original Sloan Museum opened in 1966 as the Sloan Panorama of Transportation, named after long-time General Motors president, chairman and CEO Alfred P. Sloan. The new Sloan Museum of Discovery is nearly twice the size at 107,000 square feet and completely re-built into a world-class, hands-on science and history museum. It is supported in part by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC). Sloan Museum of Discovery programs are funded in part by the Genesee County Arts Education and Cultural Enrichment Millage. Learn more at www.SloanLongway.org.
