Plan your summer: 6 quick trips to take in Michigan

Plotting day trips or weekends this spring, summer and fall?

There are plenty of new and upcoming possibilities, ranging from sea life to auto assembly to gardens or a wine tour.

Here, we offer six things to put on your "to-do" calendar for 2015.

You can go now

• SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium: Encounter sharks, stingrays and more at the new SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium, which opens this weekend in Auburn Hills. The aquarium has more than 5,000 sea animals and includes an underwater tunnel, opportunities to touch sea creatures and the chance to watch keepers feed the animals. Besides ocean creatures, it also includes a Great Lakes exhibit with aquatic life native to Michigan. Tickets are $23.50 for adults and $18.50 for kids, with discounts if you buy ahead of time online. Go to: www.visitsealife.com/michigan/

• Ford Rouge Factory Tour: At its peak production in the 1930s, the Ford Rouge Plant employed more than 100,000 people and rolled a new car off the assembly line every 49 seconds. Today, the plant produces one of Ford's newest products, the aluminum-skinned F-150 pickup truck. Self-guided tours begin at The Henry Ford in Dearborn and include a 13-minute movie on Rouge history, a 10-minute multisensory exploration of the manufacturing process, a visit to the observation deck above the factory's "living roof," and a view of the the final assembly for the F-150. Tickets are $16 adults, $12 for kids, $14.50 for seniors and free for ages 2 and younger. The tour runs Monday through Saturday. Check the Web to make sure they're building trucks on the day you want to go: www.thehenryford.org/rouge/

• Water park expansion: Zehnder's Splash Village in Frankemuth has added a $20 million atrium with a retractable roof to expand its water park. The 29,000-foot atrium includes an outdoor pool; two, six-story thrill rides, a 20-person hot tub and family cabanas. It's a short walk from the original 20,000-square-foot water park, which includes a lazy river, four-story tube slide and a 400-gallon dumping bucket. Book a stay in the hotel or choose a water park day pass (which you must reserve in advance). Learn more at www.zehnders.com/hotel/splashvillage.htm

Kicking off in May

• New wine trail: The Leelanau Peninsula isn't the only one in Michigan where grapes grow. Now a much bigger — and closer-to-Lansing — peninsula is getting in on the act. The Thumbs Up wine trail is a 275-mile course that winds in and around the region's rich farms and Lake Huron coast. It includes vineyards, wineries, a mead producer and a cider house. A grand opening celebration is planned from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on May 31 at Packard Proving Grounds in Shelby Township. Learn more at www.thumbsupmi.com.

Coming to Grand Rapids in June

• Japanese gardens: This June, Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids will open its newest exhibit, the $22 million Richard and Helen DeVos Japanese Garden. Designed by Hoichi Kurisu, the garden features traditional components such as waterfalls, elevation changes, extensive boulder placement, authentic Japanese structures and a functioning tea house. Contemporary sculptures are integrated among the plants. The eight-acre garden is the latest addition to the 158-acre Meijer Gardens campus which includes a monumental sculpture of a horse based on a Leonardo da Vinci design, an interactive children's garden, sculpture trail, conservatory and performance pavilion. The garden is located at 1000 E. Beltline Ave. NE. Tickets are $14 adults, $9 seniors and students, $6 for kids, $4 for preschoolers and free for ages 2 and younger. Learn more at www.meijergardens.org.

Look forward to the end of the year

• Detroit Zoo penguinarium: Late this year, the Detroit Zoo will open a new $29.5-million, 33,000-square-foot penguin habitat with views from above and below as birds swim through a 326,000-gallon, 25-foot-deep aquatic area. It'll house about 80 rockhopper, macaroni king and gentoo penguins. It's designed by the same architects who created the zoo's popular Arctic Ring of Life habitat. Learn more about the zoo at www.detroitzoo.org.