John Bartley Science Museum

John Bartley Science Museum

221 S. Quarterline Rd
Muskegon, MI 49442

Office Location

Main Building, room 1073 (across from Carr-Fles Planetarium)

Two boys look at an exposed lightbulb in a science museum.

Free and open to the public, the museum engages children and adults alike in hands-on science education, conveniently located near our popular planetarium. Exhibits change every year!

Walk-In Hours Aug 25 – June 3

Mon and Weds: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Tues and Thurs: 9:00am – 6:45pm (see the 7:00pm planetarium show: https://www.muskegoncc.edu/facilities/carr-fles-planetarium/)

Museum Closed dates:

  • Nov 25 & 26 for Thanksgiving
  • Dec 14 – Jan 11 for semester break
  • Jan 18 for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
  • March 1-4 for college spring break
  • May 3-13 for semester break

This year’s exhibit is “World of Water.”

For more information:

Tamera Owens, museum assistant director, bartleymuseum@mukegoncc.edu, (231) 777-0289

Amber Kumpf, museum director, amber.kumpf@muskegoncc.edu

The Bartley Legacy

Dr. John Bartley

The museum continues Dr. John Bartley’s legacy of scientific outreach. John was a scientific researcher in the world of bryozoans, which are aquatic invertebrate animals sometimes called “moss animals.” His love for science included the Science Olympiad, and for many years he volunteered as the president of the Michigan Science Olympiad.

From 1989 to 2011, John taught geology and math at MCC. He was highly revered by his students, who gave affectionately nicknamed him “The Big Kahuna” for his Hawaiian shirts lovingly made every year by his wife, Jackie. He was equally beloved by MCC’s faculty and staff for his kind and gentle manner, for his service on many committees, and as a chair of the Math and Physical Sciences Department. Unfortunately, just a few months shy of his retirement in 2011, John was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and succumbed to the disease shortly thereafter. The museum is now in his former classroom.