The Michigan Science Center is gearing up to add a virtual reality gaming arena and an indoor treehouse to its Detroit floor. The plans, which include an exhibit called “Rooted Together,” show a museum that keeps finding new ways to get kids and curious adults off the couch and into the action.
The announcement comes from Crain's Detroit, which published a rendering of the “Rooted Together” exhibit and treehouse planned for the center. Details are still thin: the evidence available does not spell out opening dates, costs, funding sources, size or location within the building for the VR arena or the treehouse.
A Museum That Keeps Adding Hands-On Attractions
This isn't the center's first dance with immersive tech. According to the Michigan Science Center's own page, its 8,000-square-foot “Level Up” prototype exhibit opened on Oct. 19, 2022, and included a virtual reality games zone with Oculus Rift headsets. That zone also showed visitors how the technology is used in healthcare settings.
Whether the newly planned VR arena builds on that earlier zone isn't established. The same page describes a limited-time Level Up feature, Electric Playhouse Travels, that used projection mapping and sensors so visitors could interact without headsets or other wearable devices.
More Projects Rolling Out Around the Building
The center's press releases point to a busy run of attractions. They include an interactive exhibit titled “Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion,” a winding indoor maze built around Detroit's landmarks, and the reopening of the popular Kids Town exhibit. The release headlines do not state the years for the da Vinci opening or the Kids Town reopening.
Bigger capital work has been under way too. ClickOnDetroit reported that the center launched $4.5 million in capital upgrades and new programs aimed at aviation, aerospace and deep space. Planetarium improvements include 8K digital projection, a seamless dome, new incliner seats and an updated audio system, while the Air and Space exhibit gets interactive displays and immersive computer simulations.
The same report said the project is funded by several sources, including a $2.6 million grant from the Ballmer Group, a $987,000 federal allocation made in 2024 and a $798,000 NASA grant.
Why the Draw Matters
The center, a Smithsonian affiliate, says it inspires nearly 250,000 curious minds of all ages every year, according to its planetarium announcement. That page promises a planetarium experience where visitors will “not only hear a rocket launch — you'll feel it!”
For Detroit families weighing a weekend outing, a VR arena and a treehouse indoors sound like a pretty good pitch once the work is done. Until the center releases timelines and costs, though, those exhibits remain plans on paper and in a rendering.
