About the Museum

The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is a "hands-on" museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The museum is largely aimed at families, and focuses on science, technology, and history. The museum is operated by Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and admission to the facility is free. The museum's collection dates to an 1881 gift to the Kalamazoo School Board of corals, shells, and rocks from Horace M. Peck, a local banker. In its early years, the museum acquired natural history specimens, ethnographic materials, and antiquities. Currently, the collection includes over 50,000 items. The museum has a state-of-the-art, 109-seat planetarium that screens a variety of presentations and programs for school groups and other public audiences.