The Henry Ford Museum

The Henry Ford Museum, located in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, was created to showcase Ford's reverence for mechanical things and his appreciation of the changes they wrought in America.

Greenfield Village is an idealized view of life in America from the 1700s to the early part of this century. Through his power, influence and friendships, Ford had moved here the Wright Brothers' Dayton, Ohio, bicycle shop; Thomas Edison's Menlo Park, New Jersey, laboratory; a tiny Illinois courthouse where lawyer Abraham Lincoln argued cases; and such prosaic structures as a textile mill, carriage shop and schoolhouse.

Docents easily recount illuminating stories about the buildings' history and occupants:

In a reproduction of Ford's first auto-manufacturing plant, visitors learn that in 1903, his men could produce 15 cars daily, which sold for $850. The men could turn out 1,500 cars a day when Ford used the moving assembly line in 1915.

Edison was granted 1,093 patents, many for devices his employees created at the long benches in the upstairs lab. The men often worked around the clock, stopping at midnight for food and camaraderie, with the nearly deaf Edison pounding out tunes on an organ. And the docent here hands out a floppy vinyl disc that, to Ryan's delight, reproduces Edison's own recording of "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

If your children get restless from too much history, they can ride on an 84-year-old carousel or the SUWANNEE, a small steamboat. They can try their hand at basic tinsmithing—Michael's medallion of Kokopelli was a conversation piece at other stops—and learning about life before the Gameboy. Ryan, in his Bill and Ted imitation, pronounced walking on stilts "most excellent."

Adjacent to the village is the vast Henry Ford Museum, which displays thousands of items in comprehensive collections. Michael kept strolling around the 600-ton locomotive—for once, "awesome" seemed the perfectly apt description—while one of the Weinermobiles was Ryan's favorite.

Adults are liable to find memories rushing back as they stroll past the clever display of roadside businesses: a real diner, drive-in movie, an old "auto court," as well as an original pair of the Golden Arches.

Pay attention to the automobile displays because this is as close as you're likely to get to seeing Michigan's most famous product being manufactured: Insurance concerns have eliminated most of the assembly-plant tours. The giant Ford plant in the town of Wixom, which has tours only on Fridays, is booked months in advance.

Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices are subject to change. Updated August 2005.