Whether you’re a Michigan native or visiting the state, here are the museums to put on your to-visit list.

The Henry Ford (Dearborn)
Travel through time at the Henry Ford and experience the evolution of innovation in America. From farming equipment to steam engines, climb onto the machines that defined their times. From race cars to freedom rides, modular houses to microprocessors, the wide-ranging exhibits of the Henry Ford bring you face to face with real things that have the power to inspire, inform and engage you in ways no image or description can do on its own. The experience always feels different with regular traveling exhibits that are included with the price of admission.

Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit)
Rich in history and culture and FREE to tri-county residents – the Detroit Institute of Arts is the perfect place to spend time with kids. Explore the galleries, find inspiration and create your own art. Drawing in the Galleries and Drop-In Workshops are regularly offered at the museum.

Sloan Museum of Discovery (Flint)
The Sloan Museum of Discovery is a can’t miss, interactive hands-on museum that has something for kids of all ages. With 5 galleries you can explore history, science and more. Walk through the histry of the greater Flint area and take a tour of the Durant Vehicle Gallery. In the Discovery Hall you can engage your senses and learn about science. Little learners will have fun at Hagerman Street – a child-size neighborhood that inspires the imagination. Then put it all together at the Maker-space where everyone can get creative and have fun.

Grand Rapids Public Museum (Grand Rapids)
The Grand Rapids Public Museum is frequently changing with one or two engaging traveling exhibits rotating in large display space. The permanent exhibits are fun too and allow you to walk the streets of old Grand Rapids, play games in the vintage arcade, and stroll through the A to Z exhibit to learn new things. Don’t miss out on the carousel that’s located in an enclosed space overlooking the Grand River.

DNR Outdoor Adventure Center (Detroit)
Experience exciting outdoor adventures with hands-on activities, exhibits and simulators – walk behind and touch a waterfall, use stepping stones to cross the water, step into a fishing boat and reel in a big fish, hit the trail on a mountain bike or snowmobile, and much more. At the OAC, you’ll learn about how the DNR manages state parks, forests, wildlife and fish as you climb the roots and explore the canopy of a massive the oak tree, hop aboard a real airplane, and see what’s swimming in the aquarium and identify the fish. The three-story interactive museum is great for all ages.

Michigan History Museum (Lansing)
Take a trip through time at the Michigan History Center, the museum offers interactive fun for kids and FREE admission on Sundays. Beginning with Michigan’s first people’s, the Anishinaabe, and ending in the mid-20th century, take a 3 story tour through time at the Michigan History Center in Lansing. The museum’s hands-on exhibits look at the life and industry in interactive ways that give kids a chance to stroll from the wilderness to the copper mines and into the classroom. See first-hand what life in Michigan has been like for generations.

Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum (Ann Arbor)
The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum has over 250+ interactive activities for kids. Kids can experiment with simple machines, water, lights and optics. You learn by playing, kids can use their imagination exploring miniaturized worlds of medicine, commerce and community. A newer addition to the museum is a STEAM Park, celebrating the engineering in an inside-out larger-than-life environment, revealing the awe and wonder of science, technology, engineering, art, and math in an arts-inspired interactive experience.

AirZoo (Portage)
Go to new heights at the Air Zoo! This hands-on museum features children’s rides and interactive exhibits showcasing aviation and space travel – you can learn about alien worlds and androids too! In addition to seeing restored airplane models, you can watch live as vintage military and stealth planes are restored for use.

Grand Rapids Children’s Museum (Grand Rapids)
The hands-on museum for kids is especially fun for littles who love to play – from music and Legos to bubbles and balls -there’s plenty to keep kids busy. The coolest thing about the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum is that there are rotating themed travel exhibits that take over both floors of the museum and feature your favorite characters from PBS, movies, books and more!

Impressions 5 (Lansing)
Impression 5 Science Center is a dynamic, interactive space for families to play, create, and challenge their understanding of science. The museum regularly hosts traveling exhibits and the permanent hands-on activities are always popular with kids and feature water, light, bubbles, music and more!

University of Michigan Museum of Natural History Museum (Ann Arbor)
The three story museum of the University of Michgian campus features exhibits with life-size dinosaur fossils, natural life and a planetarium. All of the exhibits have hands-on components featuring textures or touch-screens, making it a fun experience for kids and a less stressful experience for parents. The drop-in Nature Labs offer kids the opportunity to step into the role of scientist and follow step-by-step instructions for experiments that feel like a craft but are very educational. The projects are compelling for all ages but simple enough for toddlers to participate. Best of all it’s all FREE!

Discovery City Children’s Museum (Port Huron)
The Discovery City Children’s Museum is world for kids to explore and discover. Find treasure on the pirate ship complete with costumes and maps! Serve dinner in the restaurant, go fishing on the boat, grocery shopping at Sam’s Club or perform veterinarian checks at the animal hospital. They also host a inside play structure for kids under two All kids will have fun with the sensory and LEGO areas, giant water table, and pretend camp area.

Michigan Science Center (Detroit)
The Michigan Science Center in Midtown Detroit features over 220+ interactive exhibits, live demonstrations and special themed activities. Get creative in the Smithsonian Spark!Lab, spend time at the STEM Playground and don’t leave without experiencing the planetarium show and Science Stage Show.

Detroit Historical Museum (Detroit)
If you think history isn’t fun, you haven’t been to the Detroit Historical Museum. The museum brings Detroit’s history to life in fun, innovative and interactive ways all ages will enjoy. Start your tour on the ground floor and take a stroll through the streets of old Detroit. Stop into shops like Strohs and Kresge to see what life was like over 100 years ago. You can also watch and engage with the model train display. The main level of the museum takes guests on specific journeys to Detroit’s past: the Frontier, Underground Railroad, Arsenal of Democracy and the civil unrest of the 1960s. You’ll also find displays and interactive exhibits featuring the things (cars) and people (Temptations) you know and love in the Motor City and Motor City Music galleries.

Cranbrook Institute of Science (Bloomfield Hills)
Cranbrook is the perfect place to take your dinosaur lovers. Outside of the building you can find multiple life-size dinosuar statues – most notably Steggy the Stegasaurous – and inside you can find a full-sized Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton cast. Throughout the museum you can learn more about the natural world and gain a better understanding of science from the 16 permanent exhibits.

Michigan Firehouse Museum (Ypsilanti)
The Michigan Firehouse Museum is a three level, hands-on museum for firetruck admirers of all ages. On the ground floor guests can hop on a vintage truck and admire many more. Both kids and adults can sit in the body of a firetruck and use lights and sirens while pretending to drive. On the second floor you’ll find fire prevention memorbilia, vintage firetruck toys, a short video and explore the living quarters of the former fire station. In the basement, there is a children’s play area with puzzles, books, dress up clothes and a Bert & Ernie ride.
Photo Credit: Shelby Dubin, Michigan Science Center