The Grand Rapids Public Museum’s latest chapter is taking shape just beyond its familiar exhibition halls.
On Wednesday, Sept. 16, the museum celebrated the opening of a newly completed public space at the Grand Rapids Public Museum Archives, transforming a facility that houses the vast majority of its collections into a destination for students, educators, researchers and community members.
The Archives houses approximately 95% of the museum’s collections, including more than 250,000 artifacts and specimens. Together, those objects and records help tell the stories of Grand Rapids, Kent County and West Michigan.
The completed project is designed to make those collections more accessible, creating new public and educational spaces where visitors can engage with the museum’s holdings through learning, research and discovery.
“At the heart of this project has always been a simple idea: the Museum’s collections belong to the community, and we should create meaningful opportunities for people to experience, study and learn from them,” said Dale Robertson, president and CEO of the Grand Rapids Public Museum.
The opening represents another step in the museum’s broader effort to make its collections more accessible to the public following a major construction and rehabilitation project. Rather than viewing the Archives solely as a place where objects are stored and preserved, the new space positions the collection itself as a resource for education, scholarship and community exploration.
History, preserved—and made accessible
The project was made possible through a partnership involving the Grand Rapids Public Museum, the City of Grand Rapids, Kent County, the State of Michigan, donors, educators and community members.
Among those recognized during the opening celebration was former Kent County Clerk and Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, a major donor to the project. Land spoke about the importance of preserving history while giving future generations opportunities to encounter it firsthand.
“A young person who walks into this space may discover something that sparks an interest in history, science, government or even their own family’s story. I am proud to have played a role in helping make this possible and in opening a space that will benefit West Michigan for generations,” Land said.
That emphasis on discovery is central to the new space. The museum’s collection encompasses artifacts, documents, specimens and other materials that can provide a different kind of access to the region’s history—one that goes beyond what can be displayed in a traditional gallery.
The Archives is also intended to serve as an educational resource, particularly for students.
Bringing the classroom into the collection
The new public space expands the museum’s educational possibilities, including its relationship with Grand Rapids Public Museum High School.
Students will have opportunities to work directly with materials from the museum’s collections, using artifacts, documents and specimens to investigate subjects that might otherwise remain confined to textbooks and classrooms.
“As an educator, what excites me most about this space is what will happen here beginning now,” said Erin Koren, director of education for the Grand Rapids Public Museum. “These archives and collections are not simply things we preserve. They are tools for learning, questioning, investigating and discovering. We look forward to seeing the research, questions, projects and discoveries that begin in this space and, most importantly, to welcoming the community in.”
For the museum, that access also creates opportunities for researchers and community members to engage with materials that can shed light on individual families, neighborhoods, institutions and the larger history of West Michigan.
A look toward the next 250 years
The opening celebration also included the dedication of an America 250 plaque commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
With the United States commemorating the anniversary in 2026, the museum’s Archives offered a fitting setting for a dedication centered on history and the generations who will inherit it.
“In 2026, our country is commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, making this an especially appropriate place to recognize America 250,” said Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington. “This public space gives our community a place where we can reflect on where we have been, recognize who we are and imagine what we can accomplish when we are united in purpose and pride. May this space, and the history preserved within it, inspire future generations.”
Guests at the celebration included Robertson; City of Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand; Land; Michigan State Representative John Fitzgerald of the 83rd House District; Koren; and Washington.
But appropriately for a project focused on the future of the museum’s collections, the ceremony’s final word belonged to a student.
Odon Kiara, a Grand Rapids Public Museum High School student, officially opened the new public space and welcomed the community into the Archives.
“As students, we have the opportunity to learn in a place where history and science are not limited to what we read in a textbook,” Kiara said. “We are surrounded by real artifacts, specimens, records and stories that allow us to ask questions and understand our community in a different way. I think it is fitting that we are celebrating both the history preserved here and the future generations who will learn from it.”
The newly opened space gives Grand Rapidians another way to encounter the museum—not just through the objects selected for exhibition, but through the much larger collection behind them.
And with more than 250,000 artifacts and specimens housed at the Archives, there is plenty left to discover.
The Grand Rapids Public Museum Archives is located at 223 Washington St. SE in Grand Rapids.
