If you and your family are looking for events in May, you have come to the right place! May holds many opportunities on campus and in the Greater Lansing area. Visit the links below to explore upcoming events and register if necessary.
Campus Events
May 3 – Family Day: RESEARCH: First Saturday means Family Day at the MSU Broad Art Museum! Investigate art materials as playful research and see what different things art materials can do, inspired by the MSU students in the 2025 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition.
May 8 – Beal Botanical Garden Tour: Spring Ephemerals: Join Arboretum and Invasive Species Coordinator Carolyn Miller for a garden walk to enjoy the spring ephemerals in their floral display and maybe even spot some birds on the way!
May 10 – Museum Tour: Deep-Rooted with Beal Botanical Garden Join Applied Ethnobotanist and Education Director of the Beal Botanical Gardens, Maeve Bassett, to learn about the social, historical, and political narratives within plants in the garden and artwork in the MSU Broad Art Collection.
May 19—Rest With Music: Music can heal, calm, and regenerate our mind, body, and spirit. Hosted by Health Promotion and Engagement, Abrams Planetarium is holding Rest with Music, live musical performances featuring a variety of musical styles and genres. Visit the website for available dates and times.
May 28 – Beal Footprints Walking Tour Series: Join Beal Botanical Garden and Campus Arboretum for lunchtime guided tours beginning at the Beal Pond. May’s tour is “Plant identification for everyone” by Director Alan Prather.
May 21 to June 1 – Hamilton: A revolutionary story of passion, ambition, and the dawn of a new nation, Hamilton is coming to the Wharton Center. Visit the Wharton Center website to read more about the musical and check out dates and ticket pricing.
Greater Lansing Area Events
May 2—Teens and Adults with Disabilities Social Night: Teens and adults with disabilities can visit the Valley Farms Community Center for an evening of dancing, refreshments, and friends—old and new!
May 17 – The Best of Lansing Festival: Celebrate the best of the best of downtown Lansing! This free event transforms Lansing into a playground of people of all ages coming together for huge inflatable obstacle courses on the Capitol Lawn, over 100 vendors featuring Lansing’s finest creations, and showcasing the Lansing City Pulse’s Top of the Town winners.
May 17 and 18—East Lansing Art Festival: Visit the East Lansing Art Festival to celebrate its 62-year tradition of bringing high-quality art to the streets of East Lansing. Immerse yourself in the art, creativity, and culture of the Greater Lansing area community.
May 22 – Thursday Night Live! Mason Outdoor Concert Series: “Thursday Night Live!” is a summer series of free musical entertainment hosted by the Mason Area Chamber of Commerce to bring various musical experiences and the community together. All ages are welcome to bring chairs and blankets to sprawl on the lawn and enjoy free entertainment with crafts, concessions, and more available.
Family-Friendly Events
May 11 and 21—Impression 5’s Sensory Friendly Hours: You and your family can visit the Impression 5 Science Center’s select exhibits, which have been altered to reduce sounds, scents, and lighting stimuli. Guests can expect a small group capacity, pop-up activities, and maps designated for these select areas.
May 29 – The Spongebob Musical: Visit the Riverwalk Theatre in Lansing to see The Spongebob Musical – a cartoonish romp by Kyle Jarrow and Tina Landau.
Select Dates in May – Lansing Lugnuts Home Game: Cheer on your local Lansing Lugnuts at a home game this season at Jackson Field!
Recurring Fridays and Saturdays – Toddler Time at Launch Lansing: Visit Launch Lansing Trampoline Park during select times to enjoy children’s music, visits from Joey the kangaroo, and a special toddler section with your little ones.
Learning Opportunities
May 1 – Conflict Management: Learn how to resolve conflict, de-escalate situations, and manage crises in the workplace. This training will help you apply these tactics to real-life situations.
May 6—Grammar Refresher: This virtual workshop will strengthen your grammar and usage skills and help you present a more professional image in the workplace.
May 7 – Webinar – How Can I Afford College for my Kids or Grandkids? Hosted by TIAA, register for this webinar for helpful insights into how to make the best decisions when saving for a child’s future education. Learn why saving for college is essential, how to get started, how to avoid debt, and more.
May 8—Identify and Maximize Your Strengths: Part 2 Unlock the Full 34: In this series, you will learn to identify personal talents through the CliftonStrengths Full 34 Report, evaluate how these talents impact work relationships and performance, and determine how to develop further natural talents through the given tools.
May 8, 15, 22, and 29 – Breaking Free from Stress: This four-part virtual series explores how awareness of your thoughts can bring your personal and work life together. Become a wise leader of your personal and work life, move beyond anxiety and depression, stay steady in difficult times, embrace change, and more in this webinar.
May 13 – Records Management and Retention at MSU: Learn the rules, regulations, and strategies to help manage university records.
May 14, 21, and 28—Setting Healthy Boundaries: This webinar teaches signs to know when it is time to set a boundary, the different types of boundaries we need to set, how to manage negative emotions that may come up when discussing boundaries, and more.
May 15 – Webinar: Financial Wellness and Mental Health: Learn the relationship between mental and financial well-being in this webinar hosted by the TIAA. Gather insights on how financial problems can impact mental health, how mental health impacts decision making, the importance of developing a personal wellness plan, and resources that are available to help.
May 28 – Maximize Your Concur Travel Skills: Recommended for new-to MSU employees, this course teaches how to understand the Concur systems, create a travel request, book travel, reconcile travel expenses, and more.
May 29 – Mandatory Reporting Obligations for RVSM: MSU’s Prevention Outreach and Education (POE) presenters will review the University’s Mandatory Reporting for Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct and Title IX policy and employee expectations under the policy. This training will also provide attendees with practices and support for those affected by RVSM.