Welcome to Grand Rapids Public Museum Middle School (6-8)

Bringing community to the classroom and the classroom to the community. 

Grand Rapids Public Museum Middle School serves scholars in grades 6 through 8 with programming that combines design thinking, place-based education, and museum methods and environmental learning. Scholars experience integrated content across subject areas and blend classroom activities with community-based experiential projects. Embracing the XQ Institute Learning Goals, we pursue a mission “to inspire, develop, and educate the next generation of confident, creative thinkers, doers, and leaders.”

Our Mission:

The mission of Grand Rapids Public Museum School is to use place-based design thinking and the museum context to create learning experiences that develop confident, creative, and competent thinkers, doers, and leaders.

Here, all learners will: master fundamental competencies, improve through iteration, enrich their communities, and understand and pursue their best selves. 

Core Competencies: Read Critically; Reason Quantitatively; Learn Independently; Lead Inquiry; Explore Social Phenomena; Communicate Effectively; Collaborate on Teams; Build Community; Design Solutions; Develop Self-Knowledge; Cultivate Well-Being; and Think and Act Globally

Learners at the Middle School have the unique opportunity to access the programs and exhibits within the Museum. This allows scholars to have a close-up view of the history or science that they are learning in a hands-on way. When our scholars are learning about geography they are able to see items from the various places they are studying not just see the name on a map. When scholars are researching innovation, they are able to access artifacts from the archive that give them a full view of how an item evolved into what they know today. When they are exploring photosynthesis they are working with thought leaders in the community to design systems to grow plants in urban environments, in space or without traditional methods.