Science Museum Reflecting Pond and Fountains

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Kirk in the Hills

Resident Stegasaurus

​​​​​​​Recent travelling exhibits at the Science Museum have included a large dinosaur cast collection on two floors of the museum. The Art Museum was also recently renovated and expanded.  

​​​​​​​The area is also home to the Cranbrook Music Guild which performs at Christ Church nearby.  The Detroit Symphony

Orchestra performs in this beautiful building.

Christ Church

​​"...document, preserve, celebrate, and educate the public on the history, life, culture and contributions of Arab Americans.  We serve as a resource to enhance knowledge and understanding about Arab Americans and their presence in the United States."  

Campus Athletic Facility Improvement

Wigwam Reconstruction

Henry Ford/Greenfield Village

THE 

The

St. Dunstan’s Theatre

​​​​​​​The St. Dunstan's repertory theatre is located at one end of the campus.  

​​​​​​​Michigan's largest live bat collection is exhibited in a building behind the Science Museum.

Additional attractions near Institute of Science,  below...

​​​THIS PAGE CONTINUES WITH 2c, Museums & Collections.... Classic Attractions Near Detroit, Cranbrook Institute of Science.

Map  of Detroit

​​Cont'd.

​(2c)

Arab American National Museum

Mexicantown Michigan Welcome Center

​​The various academic institutions at Cranbrook have substantial recreation facilities and some that are open to the public with limited memberships available to the pool and other facilities.  The museums and academic communities are located at 39221 Woodward Ave. (Science Museum, 248-645-3200; Art Museum, 248-645-3323.)

Detroit Zoo Penguin Exhibit (above & left), Seal and Polar Bear Exhibit (right) 

Bat Zone Building, & Bonsai Garden Foreground

​​​The museum has a small observatory and planetarium with shows year-round.  Both were renovated in 2012.  The museum basement also contains an auditorium and gift shop.  
 

​​​There are permanent exhibits on the first floor which include Arab science, mathematics, architecture, medicine and the arts.  The second floor features the lives of important Americans like Helen Thomas and Ralph Nader and documents relating to immigration issues. A large number of objects and collectibles of Arab culture are on display, some tracing the lives of Arabs who came to this country relating to their successes and personal histories.  Programs also include world music forums relating to Arab culture as well as films, and include other ethnic contributions.  Recent events at the museum feature the Concert of Colors and the Arab & Chaldean World Festival. The museum is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. The Arab American National Museum is located at 13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn  (313-582-2266 www.arabamericanmuseum.org.)

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (Farmington Hills):  This museum is owned by Marvin Yagoda, a pharmacist.  His collection of wacky distractions progressed from a hobby that went WAY over the top.  Stuck inside a small shopping mall, the museum contains every wondrous gadget from the odd to the wonderful, like fortune telling machines, automatons, vintage and modern games, carnival curiosities, arcade machines and crazy toys and novelties of all sorts.  Just about every square inch of the place is covered with models, toys and one oddity or another.  Kids become mesmerized by all the equipment, gadgets, kitty rides, etc., clanking away, sputtering and whirring.  Just about everything has a historical description or provenance card attached to explain its background.  The museum provides a snack area, a Wi-Fi location and celebration area for birthday parties.  Kids won't want to leave, and they'll beg to come back.   Marvin's famous claim follows as:  Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum... "is known from coast to coast, like butter and toast.  From headlines to bedlines, from school rooms to poolrooms, this place is like no other that can be found in the contiguous United States and other environs of the free world."  It's located at 31005 Orchard Lake Rd. (248-626-5020 www.marvin3m.com.)

Cranbrook Institute of Science

Science Museum & Observatory, right

​​​Arab American National Museum (Dearborn):  This museum opened in 2005, and is the first museum in the world dedicated to the history and culture of Arab Americans. Its mission is to: 

WSU Welcome Center inside Wayne State Administration Building

Boar sculpture and Planetarium in Background

​The Cranbrook Institute of Science Museum has continually expanded and improved, culminating in the largest natural history collection in Michigan. Child interactive exhibits characterize many of the science wings.

 

​​​​​√RecHenry Ford/Greenfield Village (Dearborn):  Founded by Henry Ford (who once said "history is bunk"), the collection preserves things made and used by Americans on 240 acres of forested farmland with buildings arranged in a village setting.  It includes the Henry Ford, a museum collection of machinery, transportation, inventions and items of popular culture, as well as Greenfield Village, a collection of historical buildings of important figures in history, both American and European.  Visitors are surprised to see a replica of Philadelphia's Independence Hall on the grounds. Reserve enough time to see everything you wish to experience.  It's a big area.  Together the village and museum comprise the largest outdoor and indoor historical attraction in the U.S. 

Among the collections are the rocking chair in which Lincoln was assassinated, the car from the Dallas motorcade, in which Kennedy was assassinated, the bus in which Rosa Parks was arrested, the Wright Brother's home and bicycle shop, Edison's Menlo Park laboratory, working steam locomotives, working tin and iron smith shops and demonstrations in glass blowing and candle making.  Full airplanes are suspended from museum ceiling mounts and one includes a static replica of the Wright Brother's first successful powered flight. There are also many attractions for children.  This popular museum plays an active role in the manufacture of period products, some of them sold to the public. Civil War re-enactors are invited to camp on the village grounds each year, and numerous vintage car shows are held here.

So drop in and take a carriage ride, a boat ride, hop a Model T or board a locomotive... to the past.  The museum is located at 20900 Oakwood Blvd., in Dearborn, Michigan.  (1-800-835-5237.) (Refer to the Ford Rouge Factory Tour below.  Also refer to information on this Page regarding the Model T [“T”-Plex] Automotive HeritageComplex, in Detroit and the Detroit Annual Events Calendar Page for museum programs.  See the Village I-Max Theatre description on the Film Theatre Page)

Ford Rouge Factory Tour(Dearborn, in association with the Henry Ford museum):  This is an authentic Ford F-150 truck factory tour, which is self-guided.  The tour begins with Legacy Theatre historical film footage, the Art of Manufacturing Theatre spectacle with viewing in 360 degrees, the Observation Deck Tour of the plant's eco-roof, and the F-150 Assembly Plant "lean manufacturing" Walking Tour from an elevated walkway. (Total time: 1 to 1.5 hrs.)  The Legacy Gallery contains historic vehicles made in the Rouge factory.  A Factory Store offers interesting items for purchase.  Tours depart by bus from the Henry Ford museum at Greenfield Village.  The last bus returns by 5pm.  There is no parking except by group reservation. (Note:  You may not be able to see the factory in operation in some cases.  Call well in advance, and check again just prior to your scheduled tour.)  (313-982-6001 or 800-835-5237.)

Today there are roughly 270 species on 112 acres of park facilities. The zoo is involved in plans to restore several endangered species.  Popular exhibits include the Arctic Ring of Life where polar bears and seals have alternate access to a 300,000 gallon aquarium imitating their Arctic Ocean habitat.  Visitors can observe polar bears or seals swimming over and around them as they walk through a 20 meter, 5-inch thick acrylic underwater tunnel.  The new Polk Conservation Center enthralls visitors with an exciting Antarctic world, housing over 80 penguins set in a large simulated landscape and submerged tunnel network, bathed in sunlight and frigid water.  It won the 2017 Exhibit Award from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums for its inventive and lifelike simulation of the penguin environment. Another facility, the 3-D/4-D Theatre immerses visitors in realistic experience of ticklers, pokers scents and sights in various animal environments. (Refer to the Theatre Entertainment Page in this web site.)  The zoo gave its elephants away on ethical grounds to the Performing Animal Welfare Society in California where they had sufficient space to roam freely.  The Detroit Zoo also manages the Belle Isle Aquarium, now open two days a week and operated by volunteers.  The Belle Isle Nature Zoo transferred most of its animals to the Royal Oak facility and functions today as an improved visitor center offering nature programs at the island park in the Detroit River.  It's a home to an imported population of miniature deer that once lived throughout the island. Refer to it on this Page.  The Detroit Zoo is located at W. 10 Mile Rd, in Royal Oak near I-696. (248-398-0900  www.detroitzoo.org.)

Yankee Air Museum (Willow Run, Ypsilanti/Belleville): First opened in 1981, this is a collection created to preserve the history of Willow Run.  The aircraft plant was built in 1941 by the Ford Motor Co.to mass produce the B-24, using a concept of production never before applied to aircraft, and to quickly ramp up production for World War II.  This collection's archives and many artifacts on display at the time were destroyed by fire in 2004.  The most important artifacts, the airworthy aircraft, were narrowly rescued.  The current collection is now on display after adequate arrangements were made for a permanent display area.  The aircraft in the collection include the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-25 Mitchell, the C-47 Skytrain and the V-77 Stinson Reliant.  Enthusiasts can reserve rides on the B-17 Yankee Lady and B-25, Yankee Warrior bombers depending on availability.  Occasionally, one of them is seen slowly lumbering over the nearby freeway.  Contact the museum at P.O. Box 590 Belleville, Michigan 48112-0590.  (734-484-4030 b17flights@yankeeairmuseum.org or b25flights@yankeeairmuseum.org.)

Walter P. Chrysler Museum (Auburn Hills):  This museum contains a historic collection of 75 vintage vehicles that spans the early Chrysler brands as well as their predecessors.  It's located at 1 Chrysler Dr., Auburn Hills. (248-944-0001 chryslerheritage.com.)

Albert L. Lorenzo Cultural Center:  This is a heritage based approach to science, history, literature the performing arts, literature and culture. It’s located at 44575 Garfield Rd., in Clinton Twp.  (586-445-7348 www.lorenzoculturalcenter.com)

Automotive Hall of Fame:  Automotive industry celebrities, exhibits and theatre.  Ity’s located at 21400 Oakwood Blvd., Dearborn.  (313-240-4000 www.automotiveballofame.org)

American Museum of Magic and Library (near Marshall, Michigan):  This is the largest collection of its kind in the world available to the public.   Robert Lund, a reporter for several Hearst Corp. print publications, opened the museum in 1978.   The mission of the museum is to preserve artifacts of the magic lover's craft and to provide a resource for scholars, and celebrate its practitioners.   Artifacts are representative of magic traditions throughout the world and contain nearly a million items collected from the 16th century to the present day.  Numerous specimens are kept on display including those of illusions, advertising, lithographs, posters, publicity, props, films, videos, costumes, etc.  There are also 20,000 photographs and many manuscripts collected on the art of magic.  Collections span the small-time to big-time purveyors of the art.  Always popular are Houdini's "Milk Can" and "Overboard Box" escape equipment.   The famous Le Grand David troupe depicted in a 500-pound bronze sculpture is also featured.  The museum is located at 107 East Michigan Ave., Marshall.  The American Museum of Magic Library is located at 111 East Mansion Street, Marshall, Michigan.  Both the library and museum are about half way between Detroit and Chicago.  (269-781-7674 www.americanmuseumofmagic.org.)

Burgess-Shadbush Nature Center:  This wildlife preserve contains a museum of natural history with live animals on display.  It includes an area called Macomb’s “little Grand Canyon” otherwise known as the Shadbush Tract, located at River Bend Park, 4101 River Bends Dr., Shelby Twp. (586-3223-2478 www.Shelbyparksandreacreation.org/shadbushnaturecenter.html)

Crocker House Museum (Macomb County Historical Society):  This is an Italianate Mt. Clemens home (1869) occupied by the first two mayors and built during the heyday of the Mineral Baths from which the city gained its early significance.  (586-465-2488 www.crockerhousemuseum.com )

McFadden-Ross House & Commandant’s Quarters (Dearborn Historical Museum): Includes farming and transportation exhibits as well as a military residence. They’re located at 915 Brady St., and 21950 Michigan Ave., Dearborn.  (313-565-0844 www.cityofdearborn.org )

Domino’s Petting Farm:  This is an up-close-and-personal experience with farm animals at a historic farm established by one of the area’s original pizza barons and former Tigers owner, Tom Monahan.  It’s located at 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Dr., Ann Arbor and is open year-round.  (734-930-3188 www.pettingfarm.com )

Fraser Historic Museum:  This area is composed of the Baumgartner House (1875), the Hemme Barn (1865) the Depot Visitor Center and gift shop.  Hours for attendance are limited.  It’s located at 18577 Masonic Ave., Fraser.  (586-294-6633 www.bamgartnerhouse.com )

Gibralter Trade Center: One of the Midwest’s largest indoor-outdoor flea markets and trade show exhibit facilities. It’s located at 237 North River Rd., Mount Clemens.  (586-465-6440 www.gibraltertrade.com )

Greenmead Historical Park:  Contains Hill House Museum and Farm-Historical Village.  It’s located at 20501 Newburgh Rd., Livonia.   (248-477-7375 www.ci.livoni.mi.us )

Grosse Pointe Academy:  This is a registered historical site in the Colonial Revival-style of building construction (1885) and located at 171 Lake Shore, Grosse Pointe Farms.  (313-886-1221 www.gpaceademy.org )

Grosse Pointe Historical Society Resource Center and Site Information:  It provides field trips, lectures and workshops and a collection of artifacts.  A central attraction is the historic French, Provencal-Weir house (1823), the oldest in the city.  It’s located at 381 Kercheval, at Society Headquarters, Grosse Pointe Farms.  (3131-884-7010 www.gphistorical.org )

Grosse Pointe Memorial Church:  This is a beautifully preserved church in the Gothic style (1865).  It’s located at 16 Lake Shore, Grosse Pointe Farms (313-882-5330 www.gpmchurch.org )

Grosse Pointe War Memorial:  It’s located at 32 Lake Shore, Grosse Pointe Farms.  (313-881-7511 www.warmemorial.org )

Madison Heights Nature Center (George Suarez Friendship Woods):  Includes Cherukuri Gardens, special events and over a mile of paved trails.  It’s located at 30300 Hales St., Madison Hts.  (248-585-0100 www.madison-heights.org )

Michigan Transit Museum:  This is part of the Mt. Clemens Railroad Depot Museum.  It’s located at 200 Grand ave. and Cass Ave., Mount Clemens.  (586-463-1863 www.michigantransitmuseum.org )

Metro Beach Nature Center:  This center includes a marsh, a trail, a wooded area and live animals on display.  (Par permit required.)  It’s located 31300 Metro Plwy. Harrison Township.  ( 586-463-4332 www.metroparks.com )

Motor Sports Museum:  This is a collection of racing paraphernalia and racing aircraft, powerboats, motorcycles and auto competition inside the Michigan Science Center (formerly Detroit Science Center).  This is located at 5020 John R. St., Detroit.  ( 248-349-7223 www.mshf.com )

Mount Clemens Farmers Market:  A great variety of produce, flowers and baked goods are available here.  It’s located at North River Rd., Mount Clemens.  (586-493-7600 www.mountclemensfarmermarket.com.)

Holocaust Memorial Center:  This is a comprehensive museum with records containing the background on 1,200 European Jewish communities where visitors can search a database for their roots.  It contains one of the world’s largest libraries of books and resources and a complete history of the holocaust in a complex covering 8.5 acres.  It’s located at 28123 Orchard Lake Rd., Farmington Hills.  (248-553-2400 www.holocaustcenter.org )

Oakland County  Pioneer Historical Society:  Pine Grove Estate historical and cultural preservation society center.  It’s located at 405 Cesar Chavez Ave.  (248-338-6732 www.ocphs.org )

Octagon House:  This was a major stop on the route of the Underground Railroad.  55 steps lead up a spiral staircase.  Private tours are available by appointment.  It’s located at 57500 Van Dyke Ave., Washington.  (586-781-00084 www.octagonhouse.org )