Workers at Sloan Museum are smiling from ear to ear as they welcome the community back to Sloan Museum at Courtland Center! All memberships—including member day passes—will be credited with the time lost during the pandemic. Capacity will be limited to 50 visitors per ticket time. The museum, located inside Courtland Center, 1190 E. Court St., Burton, is accessible through the Court St. mall entrance, right next to El Cozumel Mexican Grill. Below are some the exhibits you can look forward to seeing.
Treasure!
Treasure! explores the history of treasure and treasure hunting, the technology employed in hunting treasure, as well as the people and personalities that hunt for treasure. Treasure! has seven thematic areas, including underwater treasure, treasures in the attic, buried treasure, gold rushes, protecting treasure, treasure in popular culture, and the modern treasure hunt. A dozen hands-on activities allow visitors to try tools of treasure hunting and investigate treasures. Special exhibit features include actual artifacts from shipwrecks and other treasure sites.
Roll, Drop, Bounce
This active learning laboratory teaches physics principles through hands-on play. Explore potential and kinetic energy while racing cars and catapulting balls. Experiment with friction while hula-hooping and playing with an air table and puck. Discover the power of momentum as you test out Newton’s Cradle. This totally kinetic experience appeals to continuously bouncing kids of all ages.
Extreme Deep: Mission to the Abyss
This exhibit brings the ocean floor to the surface! Investigate newly discovered life forms, thermal vents, deep-sea research submersibles, and shipwrecks like the Titanic in this hands-on adventure. Get an interactive look at the technology that has allowed people to explore the ocean floor as you fly a remotely operated vehicle and use a robotic arm to pick up lava rocks and clams.
Historic Automobiles from Sloan Museum’s Vehicle Collection
Courtland Center is the temporary home of over 30 vehicles representing a cross section of Sloan Museum’s automotive collection. A variety of vehicles are on display, including concept cars, trucks, and classic cars dating from the early 1900s to the late 1980s. All of these vehicles have historic ties to Flint and Genesee County. Whether it was assembled in the area, entirely Flint-built, or features Flint-made parts, each vehicle helps tell a story about how the automotive industry shaped life in Flint—and how Flint put the world on wheels.
Here are some things to know before visiting.
Safety Precautions
Sloan Museum has been working hard to prepare the museum and can assure you that you will have a safe and fun experience when you visit. However, it will feel different from your past visits. We are not “going back to normal,” but are adapting with science-driven practices that will help keep our community safe.
Following CDC, state and local authorities’ guidelines, these are some of the changes you can expect:
Wear your mask
Remember to keep yourself and others safe by wearing your mask! Ages 6 and older must wear masks that cover the nose and mouth to enter. Masks are recommended for ages 3-5. You can bring your own masks or purchase at the ticket counter for $1 each. We understand that mask-wearing can be difficult for children. We encourage you to gently remind your children to keep their masks on when they forget. Mask-wearing is required throughout your visit.
Buy tickets in advance
Tickets are on sale now! Timed entry tickets for a two-hour visit to Sloan Museum will ensure social distancing at less than 20% capacity. Online ticket reservation helps provide touchless entry; therefore, online transaction fees are waived. You can still pay with cash in person, but ticket times may sell out.
Play safe
Hand sanitizer will be available upon entry and throughout the space. When you arrive, please be ready to present your receipt on your mobile device or print your ticket. Staff will request your email address for contact tracing purposes. If you are not feeling well, please stay home and visit us when you’re feeling better.
Cleaning Practices
Cleaning practices have leveled up! We will close for an hour each day at Sloan Museum so our cleaning crew can disinfect surfaces, hands-on components, and “high touch” areas, especially in the exhibits. Longway Planetarium will be disinfected between shows. At Longway Planetarium, we are installing a UV filtration in our HVAC systems and adding filtration to the Mars room and back offices. Sloan Museum at Courtland is upgrading HVAC to MERV 10 Filters.
Gift shop
The gift shops are open Wednesday through Sunday. Take science and history home with you with learning toys and memorabilia from our gift shops.
The Virtual learning will continue. If you cannot or do not wish to visit us during our first days back, we completely understand and look forward to welcoming you when you feel comfortable returning. In the meantime, keep visiting, connecting, and learning with us on social media. So far, our educators have produced over 50 videos presenting hands-on science activities and backyard astronomy tips you can try at home. You can find all of our content on Facebook. While we keep in-person capacity low, we will continue to present First Fridays and Second Saturday Trivia Nights on Facebook Live.
