The Henry Ford, Detroit

At one time the Ford Rouge did everything in the car manufacturing process including making soybeans into plastic for car parts. A virtual self sufficent city, it employed as many as 100,000 workers. You can learn all about it's fascinating history on this multi-media tour which culminates with a visit to an actual assembly line inside the plant.

Tours start from the Henry Ford Museum/village in Dearborn, Mi, right next to Detroit.

Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are two legacies Hank the First left the Detroit area and the world.
Upon entering the complex,
one is greeted by an exact replica of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Whenever I go there, I have to turn around and make sure the Liberty Bell isn't behind me to make sure I'm not in Philly, they look exactly alike!
The museum has all sorts of modes of transportation, not just cars displayed, although, needless to say, there are plenty of those!
There is also a large collection of 19th and early 20th century memorobilia and items as diverse as clocks and silverware in the museum.
Greenfield Village has transplanted buildings from a slave shack moved here from Kentucky to Tom Edison's lab that was in New Jersey, to the farmhouse that Harvey Firestone grew up in near Akron, Ohio. The two aforementioned were personal friends of King Henry. As a matter of fact, Harvey Firestone was a camping buddy of Hank's and gave him some sweet deals on tires to slap on his Model As.
Also, the Wright brothers bike shop that was in Dayton, Ohio, is on the premises. I don't think Orville and Wilbur were close pal's of HF, but Hank admired people who tinkered and invented, which is why Hank and Tom Edison were good friends.
The thing people really come to see, however, is THE TRAIN. A gen-u-ine loco-motive, it makes regular runs around the park, from it's recently completed replica roundhouse, that is THE attraction to the Village. And all patrons can ride it, for a small fee.
There is also an old-fashioned merry-go-round and demontrations on metal machining, candle and bread making and glass blowing. All of which products are available for sale, at touristy prices, of course.
It's a great way to spend a day or two and now that they have an I-MAX theatre and ANOTHER car museum nearby, one could probably spend three or four days in the area. Who says there is nothing to do in the Detroit area?!?

*This attraction is actually located about 20 minutes outside the city in DEARBORN*

Greenfield Village displays historical homes, furniture and costumes. Ride the steam locomotive around the park for a scenic, audio tour of the many historial homes and buildings including Henry Ford's home.

Costumed attendants provide a glimpse and commentary into the daily life of those that may have inhabited the homes during the era they were built in. There are also black power shoot tournaments and other cultural and historical events.

In the 5th grade, my class and I had the opportunity to experience a typical school day in one of the one room school houses, where we wrote on slates with chalks and read from reproduced 1800's readers!

Be sure to visit the adjacent Henry Ford Museum!

ADMISSION:
Adult $18.00
Kid 5-12 $12.00
Kid 0-4 FREE

All vehicular rides are $1.50 including steamboat, locomotive, Model T and Carousel.

I hadn't been to Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village since my childhood but I recently went to see this place. I was impressed. It's truly world class. The village contains a working 1880's farm and many other turn of the century homes and shops containing working artisans. Most people collect things like stamps. Henry Ford collected buildings! Many historically important buildings such as the Wright Brothers house and shop, Noah Webster's house and Thomas Edison's laboratory are all here.

The Henry Ford museum contains a massive collection of Americana representing transportation, manufacturing, home life and much much more. Many historically important items such as JF Kennedy's Presidential limousine are here.

The place is huge, plan to spend an entire day there and make sure to get there early.

The Greenfield Village offers a good representation of the history of America. The village contains some actual houses and factories that famous people have lived and worked in. These structures were disassembled in their original locations and reassembled at the Greenfield Village. They include houses or factories of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, The Wright Brothers, Daniel Webster, and Stephen Foster. In the village you will experience some presentations of life in historic America. That includes actual people cooking the old fashioned way, riding bikes, driving old Model T's, and doing everyday things in the old way. An excellent place to visit to understand the history of America.

It's absolutely unbelievable. The things this man collected - not just cars but all sorts of weird and wonderful historical objects. It took me all day to walk round and there are eating places (very good ones) in the museum for convenience. The most impressive items are the presidential cars - including the one in which JFK was shot (bit creepy but you can't help looking). If you see nothing else in Detroit (I didn't), go and see this!

The Henry Ford Museum is incredible! The Dymaxion House is my favorite exhibit. It's a 1946 vision of the future! The Ford offers more than just cars, it's trains, planes, farming equipment, even jewerly, furniture and silver. It really does have something for everyone.

Open 7 days a week
9:30am-5:00pm
(Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Days)

Members Free
Adult: $15.00
Senior (62+): $14.00
Youth (5-12): $11.00
Children under 5: Free

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This museum has a diverse selection of things to see and is so big you need more than one day to see it all.

I especially enjoyed the Presidential limo exhibit. They also had the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile there!

The Henry Ford Museum houses several limousines or luxury cars used by past U.S. presidents, including the one John F. Kennedy was in when he was assassinated. You will also find a variety of old automobiles that you won't see everyday on the streets. Also don't miss the chair Abraham Lincoln sat in when he was assassinated. Besides automobiles, you will also find some trains and airplanes (real ones) in the museum. All related to Henry Ford in some way.

Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village
Henry Ford changed the way the world looked at production, but he was also a collecter. This was the foundation for the famous Henry Ford Museum (HFM) and Greenfield Village (GV), two truly American museums. HFM houses a huge collection of inventions, profiles of inventors as well as large collections of toys, art and crafts, furniture, jewelry and much more. Highlights include the car JFK was riding when he was assasinated and an entire home constructed by Buckminster Fuller. Greenfield Village is a type of open-air museum or'town' reconstructed on 88 acres that features Edison's entire Menlo Park Laboratory where he invented the lightbulb and phonograph, the Wright Brothers bicycle shop, Noah Webster's elaborate three-story home where he wrote the dictionary, the chair in which Lincoln was shot, farmhouses, businesses, a railroad and much more. Some of the buildings have costumed hosts/hostesses to answer questions or demonstrate period crafts, etc. Real weddings take place at the wedding chapel, but plan for a long engagement because the wait can be several years. GV has period restaurants, a penny arcade, carousel and plenty to keep the kids busy too. In addition, GV hosts special events such as Civil War reinactments and lavish decorating for Christmas. Last year, HFM also opened an IMAX Theatre to show films such as National Geographic's 'Mysteries of Egypt' on its six-story screen.