Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum facts for kids
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| Location | 6445 Orchard Lake Road West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, U.S. |
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| Collections | Arcade games Animatronics Memorabilia |
| Founder | Marvin Yagoda |
| Owner | Jeremy Yagoda |
| Public transit access |  SMART 405, 851 |
Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum is a super fun arcade and museum. It used to be in Farmington Hills, Michigan. This cool place has a huge collection of old arcade games. It also features other coin-operated machines that are really entertaining.
Most of these machines still work! You can play them when you visit. One famous exhibit is a Fortune teller machine that used to be popular at carnivals. Marvin's moved to a new spot in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan in the summer of 2025. It is now open there.
History of the Museum
Marvin Yagoda, a pharmacist, started Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum. He loved collecting, fixing, and selling old arcade machines. At first, Marvin kept his amazing collection in his garage.
His wife suggested he put some machines in a food court. So, in the early 1980s, he set up some games at the Tally Hall shopping center. This was in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Later, he rented a bigger space in the mall.
The mall closed in 1988. But Marvin reopened his museum in 1990. It was in the same spot, but the mall was rebuilt. It became Orchard Lake Plaza, now called Hunter's Square.
Marvin Yagoda became a top expert in old mechanical games. He even helped value items for the TV show American Pickers. Marvin passed away on January 8, 2017, when he was 78. His son, Jeremy, then took over running the museum.
Moving to a New Home
In November 2023, the owners of Hunter's Square, RPT Realty, planned big changes. They wanted to tear down the building where Marvin's was located. A new grocery store was planned there.
Jeremy Yagoda, Marvin's son, promised to fight this plan. Many people supported the museum. An online petition against the plan got over 50,000 signatures. Despite this, the plan was approved on November 16, 2023.
Jeremy kept talking with RPT to see if Marvin's could stay. He also looked for a new place. In April 2024, RPT sold the shopping center to a local developer.
In December 2024, Jeremy announced great news. The museum found a new home at Orchard Mall! This mall is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north in West Bloomfield, Michigan. The new space is much bigger, about 14,000 square feet (1,300 m2). The old location closed on January 5, 2025. The museum reopened in its new, larger home in the summer of 2025.
Amazing Collections
Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum has many unique items. One is a copy of the Cardiff Giant. This was a famous hoax from long ago.
The museum also has "Dr. Ralph Bingenpurge." This is a funny automaton that acts like a "food inspector." It's set up to continuously pretend to vomit into wine bottles. There are many other automata and old arcade games. Some are up to 100 years old!
You can also find modern coin-op arcade games there. There's a prize counter where you can trade tickets for cool prizes. The museum even has a collection of Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre animatronics. This includes most of the Pizza Time Players characters.
See also
In Spanish: Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum para niños
- List of magic museums
