Special Performances, Hands-On Workshops, and More Offered During Winter Break at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum

Families will be entertained and amazed by the variety of free performances available during the winter break at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. Enjoy special performances, the Museum's three floors of hands-on exhibits, engaging science activities in the Innovation Lab, family games and puzzles in the WorldWorks room, extended hours in the preschool exhibit space, and daily planetarium shows.

Free family entertainment takes place at 12 p.m. with local musician BenJammin on December 27, returning favorites Gemini on December 30, and Joe Reilly on December 31. Come back for magic and mystery with John Dudley on January 2.

BenJammin will have adults and children alike rocking to the holidays. Play music, dance, and sing along! Gemini write and play acoustic music for children and families, celebrating the fun, warmth, and humor of family life. Their recordings and concerts are filled with rousing sing-alongs, folk tales, and music from around the world. Joe Reilly is a singer, songwriter, and educator whose songs come from the heart. They are playful, clever, engaging, joyful, and always have something meaningful to say. John Dudley combines traditional magic with modern, fast-paced fun for audiences of all ages. Visitors may join him on stage for one of his many tricks or just watch in wonder.

The Innovation Lab will be open each day with a variety of science-related activities. Puzzles, games, and holiday toys will bring families together for quality time in WorldWorks on the first floor. Children’s Landscape, the exhibit area for families with children five and under, will extend open hours until 5 p.m. each day, without Circle Time programs. The December activities focus on "Mazes, Puzzles, and More" in celebration of the Mindbender Mansion 2 exhibit.

Enter Mindbender Mansion 2, a place full of puzzles, brainteasers, and interactive challenges that will test the brain power of the most experienced puzzlers! Don’t miss Willard Wigan Microsculptor. See remarkable works of art so small they must be viewed through a microscope. The whole family will enjoy Filling in the Gaps: The Art of Murphy Darden. Selections of longtime Kalamazoo resident Murphy Darden’s art will be assembled into four distinct themes: black cowboys, Darden’s personal experiences in Mississippi, civil rights heroes, and the African American community in Kalamazoo.

Extra planetarium shows will be available weekdays from December 23 to January 3. See George and Oatmeal Save Santa at 11 a.m., Space Shapes at 12 p.m., Season of Light at 1 p.m., Ice Worlds on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 2 p.m. and MI Winter Skies at 2 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. Mystery of the Christmas Star will be showing at 3 p.m., and Let It Snow at 4 p.m.

The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is operated by Kalamazoo Valley Community College and is governed by its Board of Trustees.