The Holland Museum will say farewell to Spark!Lab Smithsonian on September 15, marking the end of a successful seven-year partnership with the Smithsonian and the Lemelson Foundation. Visitors have one final opportunity to experience the STEAM-focused activity space and its current Wizard of Oz-inspired theme, “There’s No Place Like Spark!Lab: A Wizard of Oz Adventure.”

Originally planned as a two-year exhibition, Spark!Lab Smithsonian became a much-loved part of the Holland Museum’s educational offerings and remained in place through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are so grateful to Spark!Lab Smithsonian and the Lemelson Foundation for working with the Holland Museum for the past seven years,” said Michelle Stempien, executive director of the Holland Museum. “What began as a two-year exhibition became an important part of our museum community. We have loved watching families learn, experiment, create, and discover together through Spark!Lab.”

A New Chapter for the Wichers Gallery

The departure of Spark!Lab marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the space. The gallery will be renovated and reintroduced as the Wichers Gallery, a name familiar to longtime Holland residents and museum visitors. The gallery honors Willard Wichers, founder of the Holland Museum.

Renovations to the Wichers Gallery are being made possible through a grant from the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council and generous support from private donors. This community investment will allow the museum to create a more flexible space that can serve visitors in a variety of ways while expanding the museum’s ability to present exhibitions and programs.

The Wichers Gallery will serve as a flexible, multipurpose space for lectures, talks, programs, and special events while also giving the museum the ability to present larger, more in-depth exhibitions drawn from its collections and accommodate traveling exhibitions that are not feasible in the museum’s current Focus Gallery.

The gallery will close for renovations from mid-September through mid-November. The newly renovated space will reopen in time for 2026 Winter Break Takeover: A Galaxy Far Away. More information to come!

Expanding Family Learning at the Museum

While Spark!Lab is departing, the Holland Museum is expanding its commitment to family learning and hands-on education. The museum plans to transform the current Focus Gallery into a dedicated Family Gallery, with interactive activities exploring Holland’s history for young children and their families, particularly children ages 2–9.

The museum is also re-envisioning another education space to better support school and family programming. The updated space will accommodate curriculum-based classroom visits during the week and offer family-focused STEAM and history activities on weekends.

Together, these changes will create two new family-focused education spaces, expected to be completed and open to the public in spring 2027.

“Our goal is to make the museum a place where families can learn and explore together while also giving schools meaningful ways to connect their classroom curriculum to Holland’s history,” said Stempien. “We are excited to build on what we learned through Spark!Lab and create new opportunities for hands-on learning that are rooted in our own community and collections.”

Final Opportunities to Visit Spark!Lab

Visitors can experience Spark!Lab and its final theme, “There’s No Place Like Spark!Lab: A Wizard of Oz Adventure,” through September 14.

Museum Hours through September 14:

Mondays, Thursdays & Fridays: 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

Saturdays: 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Sundays: Noon–4 p.m.

The museum will also be open for Free Second Monday on September 14 from 4–7 p.m., thanks to the Meijer Foundation.

For more information about Spark!Lab, upcoming exhibitions, and the Holland Museum’s family programs, visit hollandmuseum.org or follow the museum on social media.