Reviews of Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan (Museum)

Brian Jones

This is an amazing little museum of local heritage and has some cool old cars and a nice display of local animals. Wonderful exhibition in summer with old school house and home in back from 1800s.

Glen Tuomaala

Awesome. Alpena city band display was terrific!

Sandy Sharkeys

Great museum.

Phillip Meyers

Friendly staff. Great place to play Pokemon go

Kurt Herriman

Very educational!

Jeremy Dziesinski

I only go here to play pokemon go cause it's the best spot in town for it. And they welcome us players, we appreciate it a lot!

Autum Harrington

There are so many exhibits at this museum. The local artist gallery is in constant rotation, and beautifully showcases a wide selection of artists. There is a wildlife exhibit downstairs that is well kept. The exhibits and individual displays are well labeled and include a wealth of interesting information. There is a fossil hunting site outside in the back. Fun for all ages. Several hiking paths as well as paved walkways showcase historic structures. Could easily spend the afternoon taking it all in. The staff is friendly and well informed.

Cody Kiel

Awesome place, great information , updated planetarium

Joshua

Great place to learn about the Alpena community.

Heather beal

Lots of interesting local history and a lot of native American artifacts.

Breanna Casebier

Really good plantertariom

Logan VanWonterghem

Very informative with some amazing displays. Can wait to go during the summer months so we can look around outside. Extremely family friendly.

Jonathan Brun

Allways fun

rubilla Hollenkamp

Fun trip

Anthony H

so much Pokemon Go stuff, gyms and stops close together even

Ashley Bilcliffe

Learned some very interesting facts about a town we chose to discover. The staff were very friendly and went above and beyond.

Richard Holcombe

Early European history of North Eastern Michigan

Cody Fleming

Fun stop with a great local museum and a state of the art planetarium.

Troy Reid

So much to see and do. And an awesome price. Veterans get in free. Love it.

Eugene Cambre

Outstanding family environment

michael novak

Excellent very much enjoyed our visit.

Alicia Maxwell

Great area history

Jeff Connon

Fall Harvest Days

Jerry Broad

Excellent displays, northern Michigan history, kid friendly

Heather Dwyer

Very nice museum. They have a lot of information on local history, with many beautiful photos of what the area used to look like. There is also a small artist area where local art can be viewed and/or purchased.

Carlos Vigil

Nice local museum, I liked the 1911 flyer car on display

Cindy Ranshaw

Art History and Science....all in one place! Magnificent

David Bickley

Great, small community, museum. Check out the planetarium and then browse the exhibits. It has a little of everything... Art gallery, local history of Alpena, Native American history, Great Lakes fishing and shipping history, and an extensive taxidermy exhibit in the lower level. Be sure to stroll out back and visit the fishing boat exhibit, fossil quarry, nature garden, and old buildings. I applaud the curators and community support for putting together such nice cultural exhibits; Northern Michigan doesn't have many places like this. The cost is reasonable too.

TrashLife Guru

The astronomer guy is very nice and funny. Really liked the native things.

Karen MacDonald

We had a really great time here. The size and amount of things to look at surprised us. Well worth the look

Rolland Luebben

Great stop to spend a couple hours... Lots of interesting taxidermy...

Wing Ding Gaster

If you haven't been here then your life is probably really boring. I personally like the planetarium except for the fact that they keep doing the same space tour thing. I also really like that right now they are selling astronaut ice cream (dehydrated ice cream bars). If you haven't been to this place you should go, and even if you don't like any of the art there, they have many other activities for both parents and children. This place is a great way to get away from your troubles that you are having at the time. They also have lots of places that you can buy stuff. Go there. Have fun. Be happy.

Elaine Roberts

This place was great loved the old city of Alpena recreated downstairs

Gretchen Weiland

It is ok no one really helps you

Claudia Roman

Very interesting ! Love it!

Jack Hitt

Only been here once but really enjoyed it. I can just stare at artifacts for hours and think about their story.

Brad Carter

Awesome. My 5 year old loved searching for her very own fossils! Staff was helpful and welcoming.

Brandon Chen

Enjoying a wonderful early morning Blue Super Moon Total Eclipse with activities, coffee, donuts, friends and community members. Thank you to the Besser Museum for hosting such great events!

Kayleigh Kaminski

My children and I LOVE this museum! I can't even name a favorite part because I love it all. My children have so much fun finding fossils in the fossil park and my mother enjoys the amazing abundance of taxidermy on the lower level. It's a shame that many items in the gift shop are made in China, but other than that one complaint, we are thrilled about everything else!

Bev Martin

Very interesting museum with a variety of very nice exhibits.

Kay Jon

I grew up in alpena took my daughter there for the 1st time along with one of her local friends. We all really enjoyed it, hopefully the planetarium is during one of our trips home.

Allan Stoddard

It was donated to the museum and was imbarassed with all the cobwebs and not clean.

Gloria Weaver

Besser Museum is amazing, and always changing, so if you haven't been in awhile, check it out. Recently we took friends from out of town to visit the museum and they loved it!

Aldino Scianna

Great educational tool...fascinating museum for all ages

Pat Kanalos

Very nice place to go the staff is very nice and very helpful

Joyce Demski

A wonderful jewel in a small community.

Lizz Werner

So interesting and fun.

Amber Honnagondanahalli

Great place to take the kids. The planetarium staff is very patient with toddlers.

Kristina Monroe

Educational and interesting place to visit

Brett Heimke

Log Canin Days was fun. My kids loved the Planetarium and the animal displays. Really old and interesting stuff

Doris Harmon

Very interesting.

brenda maskell

Always has interesting events! Great staff

Cassandra Claxton

Beautiful displays! Gift shop had lots of goodies.

LEC Smith

I wish I had had the time to actually come in and visit the museum, but I will definitely do that next time. Getting the pictures of the Eagle head was great! Thank you!

Eric Vanderveer

Planetarium was awesome

Mr. Sir

Awesome place, good times!

Teresa Weiss

Nice museum. The planetarium is a must! The gentlemen who does the shows is so knowledgeable and is truly passionate about what he does.

Joerg Hensel

Great passion by the staff!

Kendra Battig

This was a small museum but it packs a punch! The price couldn’t be beat and it helped us beat a rainy day on our vacation in Alpena! The downstairs was full of taxidermy and not just your typical animals! There were tons of them!!! My only word of caution is the glass wall surrounding the old car! And only because my 11 year old was so excited to see the gas pump that she ran right into it because she didn’t see the wall. It was quite hilarious because she is tiny and literally bounced off of it! There IS a clear wall there!!! It’s a museum I think many others would enjoy!

M Malone

The planetarium got a new coordinator and so are doing more shows (now also on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in addition to Saturday and Sunday). I was talking to the planetarium coordinator and he indicates that the planetarium can also do shows that explore geology and geography, shows that explore the human body, and live sky shows, in addition to what they already do. He indicated that he is working on developing Michigan Skies Live Fall, for September. Exciting!! I am looking forward to seeing more shows!

Sheila Sharp

Very nice museum, we enjoyed it! Reasonable prices too! A must see when you visit Alpena!

Phil Meyers

Awesome place to take the family.

Laura Shehan

There is always something new and exciting at the Besser Museum. We try to go on the free afternoon they offer each week. The trails are always a hit as is the rock area outside. Of course, the taxidermy is amazing and appeals to kids and adults of all ages. So much to see and do!

connie robertson

A must stop when in town.

Kristen Bates

Highly recommend

Kat Tomaszewski

This is a great place for anyone; any age! The kids love it and so do the parents :) I especially loved the Fossil Park, Avenue of Shops, Great Lakes Fish Exhibit, the Foucault Pendulum and all of the great rotating art galleries. Right now they are exhibiting Salvador Dali's work of Dante's Divine Comedy. They say this museum is "3 Museums in One" and I believe it...all of the exhibits ranged from art to history to science.

Diane Hurley

I especially love the fact that so much of the museum is devoted to honoring our veterans. The other items in the museum mostly honor those who have been lost at sea and the ships of the Great Lakes. There is a glass bottom boat or you can go out and see one of the ship wrecks.

ethan elsen

Amsone things ^.^

Jeremy

Great museum!

Carmen Padilla

This is a wonderful small museum. It takes you back in time to the history of Alpena. A must do before you start to explore the region. The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. Provided me with a lot of useful information, must places to visit during my stay.

Dennis Weiler

Fascinating place. Good local history. Curious about the animal display because it contained many not from Michigan.

Rhiannon Meyer

Great museum for such a small town. The exhibits are really nice and well thought out.

Kevin Sobczak

Great spot to take the family. Our children really enjoyed digging for fossils.

Jonathan Jacques

Very fun place to visit for all ages and very historical

Connor Remick

It was very cool. Except they keep chains and locks on back door to keep people out of the outdoor exhibit, could be an issue if the building needs to be evacuated.

Elizabeth Scheuer-Murphy

Went here for the late summer evening hours. Lots of interesting facts about Alpena and Michigan iin general. I'm not much for museums but I liked this one. We went to the planetarium. Jonathan was wonderful. Very informative. He showed us the sky and how to find a few things. Then we saw the space Apollo missions. Really enjoyed it. Recommend

Michele Borna-Stier

For a small museum, it is jam packed full of history, exhibits, and beautiful art. I learned a lot while my husband and I were there, especially because we're new to the area. Can't wait to go back, I'm sure I'll learn more.

Charles Muszall

My Son & I loved exploring the Besser Museum! I think people of any age would enjoy the exhibits. And to top it off the gift shop wasn't horrible either :)

Jacob Beardmore

False advertising on flyers and ads. Not as spectacular over all as they play it up to be. Did enjoy the planetarium show though!

James Engle

Cute little museum. Not much different than when I was a kid.

Tim Condo

Great wildlife exhibits downstairs

Peggy Tittle

Took my grandson. Lots to look at. Very interesting afternoon.