Detroit, MI

Detroit Historical Museum
DESCRIPTION: At 80,000 square feet, it covers the history of the city from its founding in 1701 to the emergence of the auto industry; major exhibits here tell the story of the thousands of former slaves who made Detroit their last U.S. Underground Railroad stop before fleeing over the border into Canada, as well as the instrumental roles African Americans played in the automotive industry, the latter highlighted here in the “Motor City” exhibit

ADMISSION: Adults $6, ages 60 +, ages 5-17 and Students w/ valid ID $4; age 4 and under enter Free

DAYS & HOURS: Tue-Fri 9:30a-5p, Sat-Sun 10a-5p

ADDRESS: 5401 Woodward Ave

PARKING: lot adjacent to the Museum costs $4, plus metered street parking

PHONE: 313-833-1805

WEBSITE: http://www.detroithistorical.org

Detroit Institute of Arts
DESCRIPTION: Funded mostly by automotive philanthropy, it is the 5th largest art museum is the nation and worth its weight in gold; among its comprehensive fine art exhibits of portraiture and impressionist art, visit the first and one of the largest permanent African art collections, ancient Egyptian artworks including statues, sculptures and artifacts dating back 4,000 years; checkout the bronze collection from Benin and works by Romare Bearden and Charles McGee

ADMISSION: Adults $8, seniors $6, age 6—17 $4, age 5 and under enter Free

DAYS & HOURS: Wed-Thu 10a-4p, Fri 10a-10p; Sat-Sun 10a-5p

ADDRESS: 5200 Woodward Ave

PARKING: Valet parking at Farnsworth Street entrance ($8), secured self-parking behind the museum on John R Street.

PHONE: 313-833-7900

WEBSITE: http://www.dia.org

Dearborn, MI

Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village
DESCRIPTION: A magnificent history museum that brings the American Experience to life; this 90-acre campus has five distinct attractions that captivate visitors of all ages; Henry Ford Museum has one of the nation’s largest collections of American inventions and authentic collections from people and events that changed our lives including, the JFK assassination limo, Thomas Edison’s lab, and the Wright Brothers’ bicycle shop to name a few; the ultimate piece may be the Civil Rights exhibit which has the bus on which Rosa Parks made her stand against segregation triggering the Montgomery bus boycott and galvanizing the Civil Rights Movement; Greenfield Village has living history exhibits of America’s past; it is one of the few places to see preserved slave quarters transported from a plantation near Savannah, Georgia; the Hermitage Slave Houses allow visitors to take a real look at what life was like for enslaved people; within the village, Hermitage Slave Houses are made of brick (the principal product of the plantation) and have survived longer than the majority of slave quarters built in this period; also located on the grounds is the Mattox House, the actual 19th and early 20th Century home of several generations of African American farmers who lived near Savannah, Georgia; Ford Rouge Factory Tour is a journey into the genius of American automotive manufacturing; Benson Ford Research Center presents a closer look at American technological genius at work; Henry Ford IMAX Theater rounds out the offerings with mega-size popular movies and documentaries

ADMISSION: ranges from $10-32, depending on the many options you choose

DAYS & HOURS: daily 9:30a-5p

ADDRESS: 
20900 Oakwood Blvd

PARKING: free on site, but you should make a reservation

PHONE: 313-982-6001

WEBSITE: http://www.hfmgv.org