25-06-2025
GRPM closed Wednesday after discovery of potentially unstable drugs
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Grand Rapids Public Museum is closed Wednesday after team members identified potentially unstable drugs in one of the museum's exhibits.
The museum's 'The Streets of Old Grand Rapids' exhibit is a recreation of the city in the 1890s, and it includes 11 storefronts based on actual businesses from the time. One storefront is the Rudell Drug Store, which features all original fixtures: According to when the real drug store in Sault Ste. Marie closed in 1969, the entire interior was disassembled and shipped to Grand Rapids.
During a curatorial review of the drug store, museum staff identified 'several pharmaceuticals that can degrade over time and become unstable,' a spokesperson for GRPM told News 8.
The discovery prompted the museum to close Wednesday, in accordance with its safety policy. GRPM said it informed public safety officials, who removed the materials.
'Museum staff regularly review and research best practices for safe collections management,' Kellie Rosekrans, the museum's director of marketing, wrote in an email to News 8. 'As safety protocols are updated, we make changes to our exhibits to ensure the safety of the visitors and the preservation of the Collections.'
The museum says it hopes to reopen Thursday as usual.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
