Grand Ledge resident Mary Brownell walked slowly through the winding evolution exhibit in the basement of the MSU Museum while five of her grandchildren tore around the corners pointing at objects.
"Look, a queen!" four-year-old Sarah Brownell said to her grandmother while looking at an ornate gold crown in a glass case explaining religion in Bali.
"It's a headdress made by young girls - maybe your age," Mary Brownell said, reading the exhibit description to the child.
Lansing and East Lansing are home to a variety of museums ranging from MSU's own collection to the living museum that is the Capitol.
"We have a lot of great museums in the area," MSU Museum information officer Lora Helou said. "There's definitely a lot to take in, in history and culture."
Helou said about 400,000 people pass through the museum to view the exhibits change every four to nine months. In the past, the museum has hosted many exhibits including ones about quilts and chocolate and brings fossils discovery from Tanzania in October and a celebration of MSU's 150th anniversary in February.
"We have a really broad audience," Helou said. "We always try to have a balance to educate and inspire people in a different way."
Mary Brownell said she likes to take advantage of the free entertainment on MSU's campus when her grandchildren visit.
"I know when they run around like this, you think they don't see anything, but when we go home, they tell me quite a bit," she said.
Nearby, Kresge Art Museum has paintings, sculptures and photographs and down the road in Lansing, Impression 5 Science Center gives a hands-on feel to the world of science.
And holding much of Michigan's history within its walls, the state Capitol building has thousands of schoolchildren, legislators and tourists walking through each year.
Students who visit can see the 125-year-old building and its artifacts but also see laws being made, said Kerry Chartkoff, director of the Capitol's tour and information service.
"It isn't a dead building," she said. "In a way, you can say it's a living museum."
Michigan's Capitol building was a model for many subsequent capitol buildings, Chartkoff said. It contains 20 custom-made chandeliers with an elk and shield and paintings of former governors.
"Our Capitol is one of only 14 to be declared a national treasure," Chartkoff said. "It's considered one of the most important historic landmarks."
