Michigan Science Center Free Day

Terese and Lamont Gilmore, both of Novi, secure their grandson, Lukas Sword, 18-months-old, of Westland, into his stroller near the check-in station at the Michigan Science Center. In the background is a display of 1,344 plastic bags. The average household brings home more than 1500 plastic bags a year as 100,000 marine animals are killed every year from plastic bags.

This is part of a display of 1,344 plastic bags at the Michigan Science Center.

Arcia Quinn, 10, of Inkster, sees the moon in a telescope near the planetarium.

This is a display of the moon seen by people looking through telescopes near the planetarium.

Nicholas Chang, 11, of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, poses looking through an astronaut cutout.

People look at a giant pendulum, proving that the Earth is rotating.

Faith Gougeon, left, holds daughter, Brooklynn Carroll, 2, as husband and father, Briant Carroll, right, holds their daughter, Jamii Carroll, 3, all of Ecorse, as they play on a xylophone made of PVC pipes.

These hard-plastic blades are part of the lumenarium, a structure donated to then Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm by Dassault Systemes. This was originally part of the French Pavilion at the 2005 World Exposition held in Aichi, Japan.

This is the inside of the lumenarium.

This is the Spark!Lab.

Ryan Evans, left, helps family friend Kenzie Miller, center, 8, both of Clarkston, as they build Paper Sounding Rockets in the Spark!Lab. Volunteer Amina Hafeez, right, 18, of Canton, helps with the building, also.

Maliyah Tillman, 11, of Inkster, builds with blocks in this soundscape in the Spark!Lab, a hands-on invention and innovation space.

People build in the Spark!Lab.

Volunteer Amina Hafeez, left, 18, of Canton, helps Meghana Attuluri, right, 9, of Novi, building a paper sounding rocket.