Lakenenland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lakenenland |
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Sign welcoming visitors to Lakenenland.
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| Type | sculpture park |
| Location | 2800 M-28, Marquette, MI 49855 |
| Area | 67-acre (27 ha) |
| Website | https://lakenenland.com/ |
Lakenenland is a cool outdoor art park in Chocolay Township, Michigan. It's filled with amazing sculptures made from scrap metal! Artist Tom Lakenen started this unique park in 2003. He moved his collection of "junkyard art" from his home to a big piece of land near Lake Superior. Today, Lakenenland has over 80 awesome sculptures for everyone to enjoy.
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Discover Lakenenland: An Outdoor Art Park
Lakenenland is a huge park, about 37 acres (15 hectares) in size. You can find it right on State Highway M-28. It's about 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of Marquette.
Fun Activities at the Park
The park is open all year round. You can walk the trails to see the art. When the weather is good, you can even drive through the park. In winter, it's part of a snowmobile trail. There's even a small shelter called a lean-to where snowmobilers and cross-country skiers can warm up.
Lakenenland also has a pond where you can fish. Every June, there's a special fishing contest just for kids! The park also has a stage for live music. A music festival happens there every summer, too.
Amazing Scrap Metal Sculptures
There are more than 80 sculptures in the park. New ones are added all the time! These artworks are made from old iron and scrap metal. Some sculptures are really funny and lighthearted. Others share important messages about society or current events. For example, one sculpture of a pig represents the idea of businesses being too greedy.
Many sculptures also celebrate the history and culture of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. They show things that are special to this area.
The Story Behind Lakenenland
Tom Lakenen, the artist, used to work in construction. In between jobs, he started making sculptures from scrap metal. He would weld them together in his garage. Then, he put them in his front yard for everyone to see.
A Park is Born
However, local officials in Chocolay Township said his sculptures were like signs. They weren't allowed in his front yard. So, in 2003, Tom Lakenen bought a large piece of land. This land was close to Lake Superior. He created Lakenenland as a special place to show off all his amazing artwork.
When the park first opened, there were some disagreements between Tom and the township board. But over time, the community really grew to love Lakenenland. In fact, in 2011, the local businesses even named Tom Lakenen the "township citizen of the year"! This showed how much people appreciated his unique park.
See also
- Sculpture trails
- List of sculpture parks
