When Rick's mom visited in November, we were short on things to do! Mobility was an issue, so long walks weren't on the agenda (and the weather got really cold during her visit); all the theatres had finished their current offerings and holiday events hadn't started. But there was one thing we could do -- visit the Michigan History Museum.
I am wondering if I'd ever really "done" the museum before. I know I had been there for work events "back in the day," but I'm not sure I ever saw it all. I was quite pleased.
The museum takes one chronologically back 14,000 years when our state was carved out of the glaciers and 10,000 years when the Anishinaabewaki tribes were first noted, with a variety of artifacts on display. (To see photos larger, please click on them.)
It moved through time, looking at the various roles Michigan played during history, including our statehood . . .
. . . and the state's role in the Civil War.
There was a focus on Michigan's natural resources -- lots of water and lots of woodland and lumber.
Farming equipment was on full display.
And this installation of glass was only one of the ways in which the Great Lakes that surround Michigan were represented.
Mining, which was a very big industry in the Upper Peninsula, was featured, including a faux cave.
The museum also focused on the people. In the school room area, we "followed" five children from one school, eventually learning what happened to them as they grew up.
I loved this tongue twister on the blackboard. Can you say it fast three times?
I'm very fond of rooms in museums -- kitchens, parlors, that kind of thing. This is one of the older homes. (Another more modern one later!)
Here's the parlor.
Farming is a big part of Michigan's heritage. . .
. . . and so, too, is the auto industry, including the role played by Henry Ford (a notorious anti-Semite who more or less developed the assembly line and advanced production exponentially).
Lansing's own Ransom Eli Olds, who created the Oldsmobile, was credited, along with other cars that rolled off Michigan assembly lines, including the Corvette and the Packard.
Other displays focused on Michigan's wartime heritage, focusing on Willow Run, an airport not far from Detroit.
As we continued up to other floors, we were able to visit more contemporary times. These were my favorites. I loved the 60s exhibit with its emphasis on such things as Motown. . .
. . . and the Vietnam War and racial protests that rocked our state during the Civil Rights years. (The videos were excellent).
As I mentioned, I love "rooms." Here's a look at one of the earlier kitchens. . . (it's fun to enlarge this series of rooms by clicking on the pic to get a better idea of what is in the cabinets!)
They did a fabulous job with the 60s house! I remember rooms just like this one!
And I especially loved the kitchen.
Check out the cupboards! I think my parents or my aunt had those pink and blue plastic dishes! You'll still find Calumet baking powder and Jiffy mixes in my cabinets!
Ah! The Green Stamps store. (Does anyone remember green stamps?) When you got your groceries, the clerk would give you stamps and a booklet to paste them into, based on the cost of your purchase. You could redeem them at a Green Stamps Store for merchandise. I remember my cousins having those shiny, colorful metal glasses!
And may I mention our Detroit Lions? We may not have made it to the Super Bowl but considering where we were a few years ago (more like the Toilet Bowl), we did darned good. Just wait till next year!
We didn't even get to finish the museum, and that's a pity because I would love to see the rest -- and someday will. Meanwhile, I learned a lot about our state I either didn't know before or had long forgotten!
Meanwhile, I leave you with a couple of faces.
Rock on, Rick!
Sharing with: Love Your Creativity
51 comments:
This looks a great place to lose oneself Jeanie. I could spend hours in there, but it would be hard to see everything in one visit. I often find that when we have gone to the Smithsonian Museums but as I like to say, we have to leave something for next time. I expect Rick's mom loved her time here and with you and Rick. Thanks for sharing all these great photos. My eyes zoned in on Rosy the Riveter. I would get my photo taken as Rosy, always liked that story.
Looks like a very interesting museum. It's funny how we often explore our own areas the most when we are showing it off to guests.
My aunt and uncle lived in a suburb of Minneapolis and yet she kept her portable dishwasher I think until she died! Rolled it up and connected it to the sink faucet to run it before she went to bed. Old Swedes--lol! If it ain't broke...
I remember green stamps! Got my first Corningware electric coffee pot with green stamps! Had the blue flowers on the side. Before that I had a glass pot you boiled on the stove, but the parts broke so easily. Saved for a couple years and it was a big deal for me--lol!
I remember somebody having those metal tumblers, but I can't remember who now.
Minnesota also had mining up north and lots of lumber.
So many, many things to look at there! I'm sure you'll go back one day and look some more. :)
A very nice and impressive museum. Glad you all had a good time.
All the years that we lived close-by you, I don't think I had heard of this. We've been to the art museum in Detroit (DIA?).
...rock on indeed. You picked a fabulous destination and I thank you for taking me along to see the sights. The cars, music and the steel kitchen cabinets caught my eye!
This looks like a very detail placed. My grandmother had a turquoise stove and frig. I thought she must truly be rich!!!
I hope you get back to enjoy the rest
Cathy
It is so good to get out and learn about your city and its people. Your companion is a great person that stands with you
So fascinating.. thanks for sharing.
Great virtual tour, thank you. The pink appliances!!
How fascinating. Michigan has certainly had a varied history. Our state museum does a good job in a similar style, but I find our dark...which they would light it better. It was renovated completely about 10 years ago and I have to admit I was disappointed. It's like a maze, and too dark.
That looks like a great museum. It's very complete, isn't it? It goes to show that our states have such rich histories, which we often either don't know or don't about think about. I learned things I bet Rick's mom must have enjoyed it also. I learned some things about Michigan in your post. Thanks for sharing Jeanie. hugs-Erika
We are museum people. We have wandered through many, amazed at the displays. History is amazing. Museums are preserving it for us to share and see.
Hello Jeanie,
The museum do look like a great place to explore. I love the native tribe exhibit. Awesome photo of Rick and his mom. All the exhibits look great, I knew a few people in my family who would love the corvette. Take care, have a great week!
Oh wow; that does sound like a large and very fascinating museum!
It’s great that a visit from Rick’s mom triggered a visit to the museum. I think we are all guilty of not making full use of local opportunities. I find it sad that in museums we often weave in cultural references to indigenous peoples, treating them as though they are the artifacts we did our level best to make them.
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Rita asked me to post this -- she's having trouble. A wonderful photo essay!!! I too am fond of museums but haven't been to one in too long. You have inspired me. This museum is fantastic and you all had a wonderful visit!
Have not been to this museum. Will have to look it up and go to it sometime. I love history, and especially love our state history. My paternal great-grandparents and their parents came here from France in the mid 1800's and all farmed their land in the Thumb. Janice
You guys..never a dull momento!So nice Rick's mom still comes for visits..Beautiful head of hair:)Lovely smile:) Please tell her.The kitchens would have been my fave:)
Wow! What an amazing museum! That’s one good thing about having visitors. It pushes us To find things to do in our communities that we might not have otherwise done! Michigan sure has a rich history!
Museums are always so interesting and full of history. So nice Rick’s mom came for a visit and you managed to visit the museum together.
In all the years of being in Michigan and exploring it with my family, I never even heard of this museum. That's sad. Thanks for taking me there.
Rick looks cool 😎
it looks like a very nice museum, the perfect place to spend time when it is cold outside. we have been home a lot....i would like to venture out more but covid , the flu and all the other things are everywhere, i do not want to get sick. rick looks good with the guitar, maybe he missed his calling??!!
Wow, a wonderful museum and yes, I love to see how people lived "back in the days"!
A pink kitchen!
All American Football Lions supported by heart! (Though sadly ours... despite it´s but a 20 minutes walk we didn´t attend last year at all...).
Also very nice you could take Rick´s Mom along.
That's a great place for a visit. Nice spot!
I'm glad you were able to visit this museum with Rick's mom, and that you all enjoyed your time there.
this is great. Gosh yes, green stamps and those metal glasses that took the skin off your fingers when they were filled with icy drinks, haha!
I enjoyed your photographs, it looks like a very interesting museum.
All the best Jan
I read through the tongue twister three times, aloud! Apparently I still have some of my faculties! This is a wonderful museum. I'll confess it: some regional or narrowly focused museums can bore me, but this is interesting even in your photos.
We had both Gold Bond and Green stamps, and collected them both. We didn't get any colored aluminum glasses with them, but the glasses brought to mind the red, blue, green, and silver tiny aluminum bells that hung on the Christmas tree. I still have them, and hang them every year.
I spotted the malted milk mix, too. Good stuff! Tillamook Dairy puts out a 'Malted Moo" ice cream that tastes just like a real malt!
It’s good she was in a wheelchair and enjoyed the exhibits. The history is very different from Hawaiian history.
From that smile on Rick's mom, I'd say the museum excursion was a huge success! We love museums and always try to find time when we travel but we need to catch-up on local exhibits more often. Thanks for the tour Jeanie!
What a great museum! Thanks for taking me along.
That's a terrific roundup of the museum, Jeanie! I love the "rooms" too. I think they give us such a nice peek into other lives in other times...
I went as a chaperone to this museum with my younger kid's elementary school group. We had just moved to Michigan, and it was such a wonderful introduction to the state.
Good morning, Jeanie! I just love the glimpse of those old time kitchen cupboards with those wonderful goodies inside. This truly is the perfect museum weather - we spent an afternoon last week at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts and it was such a leisurely, warm, stimulating experience that's making me want to visit a whole lot more smallish museums.
So good to visit with you here on this frigid morning, friend.
Wonderful choice. Wonderful museum. Love Rick's guitar pic:)
A day at the museum is so interesting. Right up my alley, Jeanie. ; ) Those outfits that the tribe wore were something else! They kept them warm for sure. I love to see the farming equipment that was used back in the day. Miners had an important and sometimes dangerous job to do. The 60's exhibit with the music from Motown is really interesting to me. I've watched the movie Temptations, and it was so neat to see how it all began. I will forever love some of their songs. The pink and green 60's kitchen is delightful. Such a nice day at the museum with Rick's mom, Jeanie. I'm sure she loved it all.
~Sheri
That looks like a great museum! I also love the rooms and scenes in museums. It's so much more fun to see everything together in a cohesive way than just seeing things behind glass.
Jeanie, the museum looks like a perfect place to spend a day. I am glad Rick’s mother was able to go. I love the old kitchens and the photo of Rick and his mom. Hopefully you can return and visit the rest of the museum!
Hello Jeanie :)
A wise choice to visit this wonderful museum with so much to see and remember some of the 60s exhibits. I'm glad you all enjoyed the experience and I enjoyed looking at the pictures.
All the best
Sonjia.
What an interesting museum. Lots of very interesting collections...Ricks Mom had the best seat!!
I love when they feature domestic scenes in museums. My Graham ancestors were prominent lumbermen and lawmen in the Saginaw area.
I find a lot of museums are like that unfortunately.
What a fun museum. I love local historic museums like this one. Love, love the rooms and YES I remember Green Stamps. It was so exciting when we could get something with a full book of stamps.
I also enjoy visiting Museums, you can learn so much. I enjoyed the rooms too, so nice to have a glimpse of how people used to live decades ago. I'm sure Rick's mom had a great time visiting you both.
Thank you for this post. I got interested in long travels of the Anishinaabewaki tribes.
Oh my gosh where is this? I need to visit with Wyatt!!! This is like everything we are doing in history this year. Lol. What an amazing looking museum. Thank you for sharing Jeanie!!
What a wonderful trip through the museum. I enjoyed seeing the details you've shared. As it's unlikely I will ever visit the museum, I'm glad you've shared so many pictures.
The 1960s kitchen is very interesting indeed. Looks like it was a nice day out, even if you didn't see all of it.
This looks fascinating. I'm a frequent visitor to the Museum of the City of New York, a gem that too many miss. You just reminded me that I'm hoping to get back and see an exhibit about Shirley Chisholm that's there now.
You had such a wonderful time at the Michigan History Museum! It’s amazing how much history can be packed into a space like that, and it’s great that you were able to take it all in, especially with the weather being so cold. The focus on Michigan's natural resources and the Civil War era must have been fascinating!
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