Detroit Children’s Museum Set to Open After 14-Year Limited Access

A fresh start awaits at the Detroit Children's Museum. The doors swing open to the public December 6, 2025, breaking a 14-year spell of restricted entry. A state grant of $819,200 from Michigan's Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity made this possible.

Students from Detroit Public Schools get first access in October. The building at 6134 Second Ave. houses an astonishing 2.5 million objects, each waiting to spark young minds with wonder.

"We stand on a 108-year legacy, but this is a new beginning and a homecoming," said Don Bogart, senior curator of the museum, according to The Detroit Free Press.

Since its start in 1917, the Detroit Public Schools Community District has owned this space. After 2011, the museum cut back to field trips only. Then came COVID-19 in 2020, forcing a total shutdown, and since then, money troubles have kept the doors locked.

"The Children's Museum is so valuable to the fabric of our community and the school district, and, for years, it's been a missing piece that our students didn't have," said Kerrie Mitchell Campbell-Mabins, president of the Detroit Public Schools Community District Foundation, to The Detroit Free Press.

Yet even with closed doors, learning never stopped. The museum's lending program sends items to schools across the city, giving students an opportunity for hands-on learning within their own classrooms. Last year alone, 70,000 students worked with these treasured pieces, Bogart told The Detroit Free Press.

This news struck a chord with Lena Bembery, 75, who runs the Joan Solomon Foundation. "Education is the first line of defense in protecting our country, our community and our families," Bembery said.

Back in 2009, financial storms nearly sank the museum. The Detroit Science Center stepped in, keeping things afloat through dark times. Now, sixteen years later, Michigan's Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity is giving the museum its third chance. 

The grand reopening will overlap with Midtown's festive Noel Night celebrations. New staff, including expert curators, will soon fill the halls, preparing for waves of curious visitors.