Michigan: The Henry Ford Museum

In a previous post I shared our wonderful experience with The Henry Ford - Greenfield Village.   

Here was our experience at The Henry Ford Museum:

There was plenty of parking!  It wasn't busy on either of the two days we were at The Henry Ford so parking was really easy for us.

Map of the area.  They bus you to another location for the factory tour.
We received temporary tickets from our hotel (explained more in my blog post on Greenfield Village).
We took those tickets to a central ticket counter near the parking.
The ticket booths are very visible so not hard to find.
 There we were given our tickets for the day and we paid for parking
($5 but they waived it for us due to the package we had.) 

Ford Rouge Factory Tour

Map of the museum.  This doesn't give a lot of detail but enough to find your way around.

I can't express enough how AMAZING this place is!  There is so much to explore in this building and so many original items that I was amazed to see right in Dearborn, Michigan 

(versus Washington DC)!

The museum is broken up into four main areas with a couple of smaller (yet amazing) areas hidden near the back:

Cars, race cars, trains, campers, wagons, ...  

Airplanes

Constitution, segregation, civil rights, ...

From old to new items, toys, electronics, ... 

Note:  There is so much more than what I have pictured in this blog!

Lets start with
"Driving America":  

Presidential cars - the real ones!

Yes - this is the actual car that Kennedy was in when he was assassinated!
Right in Dearborn, Michigan!  A staff member said that you can still see a blood stain in it.
Of course we could not get that close but I'm kind of glad for that.    

There is a large variety of cars but oddly - I didn't take that many pictures of them.

In this section kiddos can also design and test a K'NEX car.

A place to eat.  It's in a train car and also has some seating outside of the car (all still inside the museum.)
We did not eat at this diner but only because there weren't great vegetarian options.

Another view of the diner area.

Heroes of the sky:

Again - there is way more in this section that is not represented in this blog.  There is just too much and I want to leave some of the adventure for you to experience!

Yes - you can walk into a passenger airplane and learn all about how they work.

Making paper airplanes.

Step-by-step instructions for a variety of different paper airplanes.

Testing them out!

"With Liberty and Justice For All":

Segregation.

On a side note:  We recently visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.  It was a great place but I honestly felt like The Henry Ford Museum provided a better idea of what segregation was.  The National Civil Rights Museum had so much information that it seemed like too much (in my opinion.)  Ironically, we had to watch a movie at the beginning of our visit at the National Civil Rights Museum where we discovered that Ford is a big sponsor!

This was a hard topic to explain to my kiddos but the way the information and displays are set-up make it very educational when discussing this part of our history.

The Rosa Parks bus!  Not a replica, or a similar bus - but THE BUS.  Again, in Dearborn, Michigan!

This section also has the actual chair that Lincoln was sitting in when he was assassinated!

"Your Place and Time":

Pistol designs through history.

This section also has a kids Lego play area.

We actually own one of these!

In this area you will also explore the Dymaxion House.  Is is an all-aluminum round house.
It's pretty cool but I do not have a picture. 

Let's create some energy!

"Made in America":

Assembly line to make a car!

Model T Complete!

Time to help build a real car!

"Agriculture":

Lots of tractors!

Fun for Everyone:

Playhouses!

Doll Houses!

Wienermobile!

Another place to eat - Hot Dogs!
There are a couple of gift shops but the largest one is near this area.

There are a few different mold options.  We decided to get the presidential car.

We found rubbing stations around the museum.
You can use a piece of paper and a crayon to rub out a picture to keep.
I believe this one was near the Dymaxion House. 

We visited The Ford Museum on a weekday.  It wasn't busy for us at all!  

However, they do offer demonstrations and tours on weekends.

I look forward to visiting again when my kiddos have learned more about some of the topics displayed!