It was a long wait, but totally worth it for the students, parents and community supporters who celebrated the opening of the Grand Rapids Public Museum High School.
An Aug. 15 ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official opening of the school, created from the former Grand Rapids Public Museum at 54 Jefferson Ave. SE. Known to many city residents as the longtime home of historical artifacts and wildlife dioramas, the building now hums with learning among the more than 75 ninth-graders now enrolled. The program is an extension of the middle school program established at the Van Andel Museum Center in 2015.
The event was followed the next day by another ribbon-cutting, this one at Buchanan Elementary School, which has undergone an extensive renovation and addition.
Public Museum High School received a boost in funding from XQ: The Super School Project, which awarded the GRPS Museum School $10 million in grant funding, one of 10 nationwide so honored. A capital campaign and bond funding also supported the $10 million renovation of the historic building, which houses some 250,000 artifacts that will be used for student learning.
