Arts & Entertainment

Lightning Robotics brings the fun of STEM to Plymouth

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Photos by Kira Gendjar

PLYMOUTH, Mich.—Each year, Lightning Robotics puts on its annual Robots in the Park event in Plymouth, Michigan. Composed of a team of students, these high schoolers and their numerous supportive mentors worked hard to make this completely free event an engaging learning environment and an overall success. Hosted in Kellogg Park, the grass and nearby gathering area were filled with hands-on activities and demonstrations geared towards elementary children to introduce them to the fun world of STEM. Lightning Robotics has been running out of Canton High School for the past 26 years. The program is primarily comprised of Plymouth-Canton Educational Park students.

Arts & Entertainment

Artists from across US come to Plymouth for Michigan’s second-largest art fair

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PLYMOUTH, Mich.—Over three days, more than 300,000 attendees were able to see beautiful artistry beheld by individuals from across the nation in Plymouth, Michigan, at the annual Art In The Park event. With at least 400 artists, downtown Plymouth was filled with tents, music, food, laughter and, of course, art. Art In The Park is the second largest art fair in Michigan, featuring artists that call the mitten home, as well as individuals who hail from as far away as Texas. Out of the 400 artists, only 156 were from Michigan. The art for sale included woodwork, paintings, metal work and photography.

Arts & Entertainment
Lake Superior at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Lake Superior runs for president, ponders running mate

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LAKE SUPERIOR PRESIDENCY: Yes, Lake Superior is a declared candidate for president of the United States and is in search of a running mate. The self-proclaimed #GLOAT (Greatest Lake Of All Time) is running on a “Water First Agenda,” is active on the social media platform X and maintains a campaign website. We hear from the campaign’s account manager, an MSU science communication expert and the Great Lakes Indian Fisheries and Wildlife Commission. By Elinor Epperson. FOR ALL POINTS.

Arts & Entertainment
Author Sally Cole-Misch says her background in environmental communication taught her that story-telling is a powerful educational tool.

Need a summer read? Join this Great Lakes -wide book club

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GREAT LAKES BOOK CLUB: Readers across the Great Lakes states and Canada this year will participate in a basin-wide book club hosted by the Library of the Great Lakes. From now until September 2025, participants will read Bloomfield Township author Sally Cole-Misch’s The Best Part of Us that takes place on an inland lake near Lake Huron and deals with family history, heritage and place-based attachment.They’ll also read an Ontario author’s children’s book, The Water Walker. By Kayla Nelsen. FOR ALL POINTS.

Arts & Entertainment
Newly emerged monarch butterfly.

Butterflies race for state insect status

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BUTTERFLIES: Three butterflies are racing to become Michigan’s official state insect – and the black swallowtail is ahead, at least politically. The Michigan Garden Clubs and a House committee are among its fans, but the Karner blue and the monarch aren’t out of the running yet. Lawmakers, including ones from Meridian Township, Muskegon and Pontiac, are split. By Vladislava Sukhanovskaya. FOR ALL POINTS.

Arts & Entertainment
The Vicksburg Union Depot in the past.

Southwest Michigan train depot chugs onto National Register of Historic Places

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HISTORIC DEPOT: A 1904 train depot in Kalamazoo County has arrived on the National Register of Historic Places. The last Grand Trunk Western passenger train stopped at the Vicksburg Union Depot in 1972 and freight service was discontinued two years later but 60 freight trains a day still rumble by the restored depot. By Eric Freedman. FOR STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, COLDWATER AND ALL POINTS.