Hubby has a business golf outing in Lansing Michigan for a few days and I'm going to tag along. We plan to head over to the Lake Michigan side & the quaint towns on the way back. But, is there anything fun to do in Lansing? We live in Chicago so shopping doesn't really impress me. Any ideas for how to pass the time while hubby's working? thanks.

Get out of Lansing and head to a REAL university town... ANN ARBOR!! It's a great, quaint, college town. Have lunch at Zingerman's Deli (an institution!!) and the take a stroll down State Street and South University. There are also 2 (small) museums on campus, one art and one natural history. Also, great architecture on the buildings.

Looks like you may get caught in the battle of the universities. Lansing and East Lansing has a lot to offer, from a walk around a beautiful campus (something that other place certainly doesn't have..they have a town for a school) but Potter Park Zoo is very nice, The Michigan Museum in downtown Lansing is really great and the Lansing Lugnuts baseball team is always good family entertainment. If you get downtown make sure you get to the PEANUT HOUSE...best warm cashews in the world!

It is the state capital if you wanted to tour the buildings.

You are 1 hour drive from Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, if you wanted a change of scenery for an afternoon. Grand Rapids has a decent zoo, small urban downtown, and several museums. Ann Arbor has the charm of a small campus town with great people watching opportunities.

Laurie -- I grew up in Lansing and still have family there. I'm sorry to say that there is not a whole lot to do there, especially in comparison to Chicago. MSU's campus is lovely, but in terms of things to DO, well...

I agree that you could tour the Capitol building and visit Potter Park Zoo. Neither of those will take very long though. If you are outdoorsy at all there are several places where you can rent canoes.

I wish I had some better suggestions.

If you're at all interesting in gardening, MSU is the horticulture university in Michigan and they have some terrific gardens, including a childrens' garden, open to the public, free of charge I think. That could definitely use up a few hours, especially if it's nice outside.