Best 12 Museums in Detroit

The Henry Ford Museum

Name and Location: The Henry Ford Museum is located at 20900 Oakwood Blvd, Dearborn, MI 48124 in Dearborn near Detroit.

Collections and Exhibits: Spanning 300,000 square feet, the museum contains diverse artifacts of American innovation including historic cars, Abraham Lincoln’s chair from Ford’s Theatre, the Rosa Parks bus, presidential limousines and more.

What to Expect: Visitors explore exhibits spanning inventions and pivotal events that changed America from the 17th through 20th centuries. Popular attractions include riding in a Model T and touring trains. Immersive galleries make history engaging.

Visitor Information: The Henry Ford Museum is open daily year-round except select holidays. Combination and discounted tickets available to also visit Greenfield Village historical park.

A visit to The Henry Museum is a must for anybody studying Detroit’s pioneering beginnings. The complex, which is situated in neighboring Dearborn and is one of the city’s top attractions, has an amazing collection of well-known items that contribute to capturing the relentless American desire for innovation and advancement.

Famous relics such as the bus in which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and the rocking chair in which Lincoln was murdered are housed within the museum’s lofty hallways.

Visitors can climb inside a huge 1940s train or examine the Allegheny steam locomotive. With artifacts like the Kennedy presidential limousine, an art deco cafe, and early electric generators, among many others, exhibits boldly showcase the golden age of machinery.

The nearby Greenfield Village’s roughly 100 recognizable old buildings take visitors even further back in time. An immersive outdoor experience is produced by a number of structures, including Ford’s first production shed, Noah Webster’s house, Thomas Edison’s lab, and the Wright Brothers bicycle store. For the complete time travel feel, take a vintage Model T for a ride around the park.

The Henry Ford Museum provides an insightful and instructive experience that demonstrates our progress while encouraging our future with its unique collection that preserves American creativity and aspiration.

Motown Museum

Name and Location: The Motown Museum is located at 2648 W Grand Blvd, Detroit, MI 48208 in the New Center area where Hitsville U.S.A. once stood.

 Collections and Exhibits: Motown legends recorded hits inside the humble Hitsville house in the 1960s. Today exhibits and films share stories of the musical revolution’s influence while preserving Studio A much as it was.

What to Expect: Guided tours allow visitors to stand in Studio A where Motown’s greatest talents recorded, learn the label’s history in its early headquarters, and dance in Hitsville’s signature style. Priceless memorabilia features The Supremes, Temptations, Marvin Gaye and more.

Visitor Information: Timed tours run daily, generally 10 AM-6 PM, and sell out quickly. Hitsville tours last 60-90 minutes. Expanded campus has a gift shop and interactive exhibits.

It seems improbable that a musical revolution that swept the country would take place in a little home tucked away along West Grand Boulevard, surrounded by ordinary West Detroit residences. However, this small structure, now known as the Motown Museum, is known as “Hitsville U.S.A.”, the headquarters of the renowned record label that was founded in 1959 by Berry Gordy Jr.

Imagine artists like Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Supremes, or a youthful Stevie Wonder sitting around a battered piano in Studio A, creating hits that fueled a generation. The experiences of those who found inspiration in these intimate surroundings are shared through photographs, costumes, artifacts, and other relics surrounding what was once a makeshift office.

Even though the facilities were minimal during Motown’s prime, writers, producers, and artists worked together and competed to achieve the distinctive Motown sound under Gordy’s direction, fostering musical innovation. Even now, every happy note carries that timeless, deep style.

Through a close-knit Detroit perspective, this “musical factory” honors the creative energy and cultural empowerment during a pivotal period of American history.

Charles H. Wright Museum

Name and Location: The Charles H. Wright Museum is located at 315 E Warren Ave, Detroit, MI 48201 in Midtown.

 Collections and Exhibits: As the “museum of African American history,” diverse galleries with artifacts, films and recreated environments trace the Black experience from Ancient Africa through slavery, Reconstruction, the Great Migration and Civil Rights movement.

What to Expect: Immersive exhibits transport visitors inside a slave ship, along the Underground Railroad route to freedom, into the streets of 1968 Detroit during uprisings and more, powerfully communicating often untold stories.

Visitor Information: The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays (and select Mondays). Admission is around $15 for adults with discounted rates available. Free on Sundays.

Honoring the often overlooked stories around African American culture and heritage, the Charles H. Wright Museum delivers an utterly captivating experience. As the world’s largest institution dedicated to black history spanning the African diaspora across time and geography, the museum showcases a tremendous, diverse collection across comprehensive exhibits.

Galleries vividly bring to live crucial chapters tracing the path from Capture and Enslavement through Reconstruction then onto A Century of Black Life from Segregation to Civil Rights and beyond. Artifacts, interactive displays, films and photographs provide immersive perspectives amplified by contemporarily designed spaces.

Rotating special exhibits further explore essential subjects like Black entrepreneurship, African royalty, and the Harlem Renaissance keeping experiences fresh even for returning visitors. And the Still We Rise multi-sensory theater previews an upcoming expansion to showcase black cultural contributions across science, theater, politics and more spheres profoundly shaped by trailblazing individuals.

For anyone eager to better understand the central role of Black Americans weaving throughout the entire tapestry of the nation, the Charles H. Wright Museum delivers an absolute treasure of insights sure to enrich mindsets.

Detroit Historical Museum

Name and Location: The Detroit Historical Museum is located at 5401 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48202 in Midtown/Cultural Center.

 Collections and Exhibits: Exhibits interpret over 300 years of Detroit history through recreated historic streets, a fur trading post, Model T assembly line and more immersive settings. Rarely displayed artifacts include Civil War letters, vintage neon signs and Sitdown Strike images.

What to Expect: Guests time travel through pivotal Motor City moments like 19th century streets, Corktown’s irishtown, 1943 wartime, 1967 riots, a 1943 stock car race and a 1967 love-in happening amid interactive displays to engage all ages.

Visitor Information: The Detroit Historical Museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays year-round with free general admission. Some special exhibits incur additional fees to experience.

The fascinating Detroit Historical Museum tells the tale of how Detroit laid the foundation for early America’s transformation, as one could anticipate in Motor City. Their extensive collection of historical artifacts offers vital background information on the individuals, locations, and occasions that laid the groundwork for this magnificent city.

To set the picture, a whole 19th-century cobblestone street scene greets guests as they arrive at the 1928 opening. Then, employing immersive installations like a fur trade cabin, a Civil War battle diorama, a vast auto plant, and a vintage Wonder Bread manufacturing suite, galleries lead you chronologically through various eras.

Among the most captivating displays are famous Detroit landmarks that live on in postcards and recollections, such as the imposing Detroit Fire Department alarm bell, the neon Grande Ballroom sign, and the sculptures from the J.L. Hudson Department store. Others explore complex regional issues that affected local residents, such as segregated housing laws and divisive labor struggles.

With unique objects and unforgettable experiences at every corner, the captivating Detroit Historical Museum offers a thorough, approachable overview of Detroit’s DNA.

Detroit Institute of Arts

Name and Location: The Detroit Institute of Arts located at 5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48202 in Midtown holds one of America’s most renowned art collections.

 Collections and Exhibits: The holdings span 13 centuries of human creativity across classic to modern genres: Old Masters and French Impressionists, Greek and Roman antiquities, Islamic manuscripts, Native American artworks, Diego Rivera murals and so much more.

What to Expect: Visitors traverse galleries filled with 100+ highlights like Bruegel’s The Wedding Dance then find serenity viewing Monet haystacks before grabbing lunch at Kresge Court surrounded by Diego Rivera industry murals. New exhibits rotate constantly.

Visitor Information: The DIA is open Wednesdays-Sundays (closed Mondays-Tuesdays). Timed entry tickets are around $14. Parking onsite, via QLINE or DDOT bus. The museum offers tours, programs and accessibility options.

The expansive Detroit Institute of Arts, which is home to one of America’s most important art collections, welcomes guests to journey across time and nations and discover human ingenuity via timeless masterpieces. The DIA’s priceless assets were protected inside its imposing walls even as the city declined throughout the turbulent 20th century.

Today, everyone is welcome to enjoy outstanding fine arts that showcase influential movements and artists from traditional European masters to avant-garde current genres in the beloved Beaux-Arts structure that houses the DIA. Even on busy days, it’s easy to navigate the big interior thanks to individual galleries that specialize in things like Impressionist paintings, Contemporary American works, Arts of Africa, Native American crafts, and more.

In addition to its over 70,000-piece permanent collection, the DIA frequently hosts top-notch temporary exhibitions that feature well-known painters like Picasso or bring in returning artists that deserve fresh perspectives. The variety and depth of the forms, figures, and brushstrokes on exhibit, which range from religious images from the Renaissance to Pop Art playfulness, might enthrall art lovers for weeks.

The Detroit Institute of Arts offers a transformative experience with the power of art for anyone seeking reasonably priced insight into the visionaries who use artistic expression to open our eyes to new ways of viewing reality.

Arab American National Museum

Name and Location: The Arab American National Museum is located at 13624 Michigan Ave, Dearborn, MI 48126, dedicated as the first museum for Arab-American history and culture.

 Collections and Exhibits: Exhibits chronicle Arab immigration to America through photos, oral histories, artifacts and films while galleries celebrate contemporary experiences and community connections alongside changing cultural exhibitions.

What to Expect: Museum goers learn how early immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa settled across America with focuses on Detroit’s diverse community. Compelling perspectives counter stereotypes about Arab heritage globally.

Visitor Information: The Arab American National Museum is open from 10 AM to 6 PM, Tuesday through Saturday, with extended hours on Thursdays until 10 PM. Check the website for special events.

The Arab American National Museum highlights intriguing facets of identity across continents as the first significant organization devoted to recording Arab American heritage and contributions. First-hand accounts of numerous immigrants and refugees who came to America in pursuit of better lives starting in the late 19th century are included in the main exhibit.

People of Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian, and many other ancestries share their tales through deeply personal artifacts such as handwritten letters, family heirlooms, and treasured photos.

Alongside customs specific to each country they represent, these groups’ shared experiences that bind them together are unraveled. Visitors learn about food preparation, music, wedding customs, and multifaith symbols that have been modified to match the journeys of individual families while maintaining shared foundations.

The complex narratives of struggles and victories on exhibit at the museum offer poignant viewpoints that are sometimes overlooked by the media for individuals who wish to see past damaging preconceptions about Arab civilizations that are perpetuated elsewhere. Continuing to raise awareness with empathy are special concerts, talks, and changing exhibits.

Tuskegee Airmen National Museum

Name and Location: The Tuskegee Airmen National Museum is located at 4600 Western Ave, Suite 1401, Detroit, MI 48204 inside Historic Fort Wayne.

 Collections and Exhibits: The museum honors the first African-American military pilots, the Tuskegee Airmen, via displays of uniforms, models, medals and more artifacts showcasing personal stories about training in Alabama to serving abroad during World War II under Jim Crow laws.

What to Expect: Visitors learn how commanders like Benjamin O. Davis Jr. led exemplary air support despite segregation policies, setting the stage for 1948 military integration. Talks, programs and movies further reveal their essential yet under-recognized wartime contributions.

Visitor Information: Open Thursdays-Saturdays 12 PM-5 PM for self-guided tours with free admission. Limited hours may extend during special events like Veterans Day. Group tours available if booked in advance.

This fascinating museum soars with inspirational tales of bravery and tenacity in the face of overwhelming injustice, honoring the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, who were the first African-American military aviators in the 1940s.

The Tuskegee Airmen National Museum, housed in an 8,500-square-foot former industrial plant close to Ford Airport south of Detroit, chronicles the journey of resolute, hopeful pilots from their training in Alabama to their experiences in combat during World War II.

The Tuskegee aviators bravely defended America in the skies against the widespread institutional discrimination of the time. They flew 200 missions and were the only escort fighter group to never lose a bomber to enemy fighters. Their valiant tale endured and was eventually acknowledged decades later.

The spirit of these pioneering squadrons is perfectly captured by personal tales enhanced by gear, exhibits, and uniforms. Regardless of gender, ethnicity, or place of origin, we all achieve greater heights when opportunity soars.

Dossin Great Lakes Museum

Name and Location: The Dossin Great Lakes Museum located on Belle Isle at 100 Strand Drive, Detroit, MI 48207 focuses on maritime history.

 Collections and Exhibits: Exhibits feature golden age steamships and freighters through over 100 scale models, 400 miniatures, thousands of maritime artifacts and engaging displays navigating Great Lakes regional stories as complied by J.A. Dossin.

What to Expect: Visitors discover rich Great Lakes lore from sailing era tribes through Detroit’s shipping commerce via full-sized galleys and captain quarters, video reenactments interpreting sailors’ duties and sacrifices, even a bow cam simulating entering the Soo Locks.

Visitor Information: The Dossin Great Lakes Museum is open Saturdays and Sundays year-round, free to all. Weekday field trips or rentals can be booked through the Detroit Historical Society managing the location.

The little Dossin Great Lakes Museum, located on the banks of the Detroit River, examines the long-standing relationship between Michigan cities and the lakes that shape the topography of the heartland. The structure itself, which was once a warehouse for shipping supplies, sets the stage for learning about how cultures and things moved across the Great Lakes to shape Midwestern society.

More than 35,000 objects documenting two centuries of commercial shipping, recreational boating, and significant maritime stories from the area are part of the museum’s collection. Visitors can explore fascinating underwater archaeology displays that uncover sunken ships or examine various vessel components. An understanding of the settlements established along the lakeshores can be gained from historic logs that describe the difficulties faced by early seafarers.

The Dossin Great Lakes Museum also runs the fully operational tall ship Hamilton, which is berthed directly next door, for those who are itching to get out on the water. Visitors can see firsthand how the wind causes the canvas sails to swell during tours and special sailing trips.

See also: 12 Parks in Dearborn, Michigan

Ford Piquette Avenue Plant

Name and Location: The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is located at 461 Piquette St, Detroit, MI 48202 just northeast of Milwaukee Junction.

 Collections and Exhibits: Saved from demolition to open as a museum in 2001, Ford’s second automobile factory preserves the 1904 Plant #2 highlighting nascent auto manufacturing and contains the first-ever Ford Model T prototype.

What to Expect: Walking through well-preserved spaces like the experimental room, visitors gain perspective on emerging 20th-century industry. Interpretive exhibits chronicleFord’s innovative path to making cars available to the masses.

Visitor Information: The Ford Piquette Plant offers hourly guided walking tours Wednesday-Sunday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM April through November. Timed tickets required for the museum experience.

Without visiting the modest factory floor where renowned inventor Henry Ford initially invented the vehicle assembly line to transform industry, a trip to Motor City would not be complete. The meticulously restored Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, which was constructed in 1904, served as an industrial incubator where Ford and his associates conceived of the ground-breaking Model T that would motorize the masses.

You can almost feel the humming ambition that pulsed through the walls of the ancient three-story workshop building decades ago as you walk on the creaky wood floors.

Extensive displays highlight the development of automation technology that was invented on-site, such as the prototype assembly line that installed flywheel magnetos and precise machine tools. The iconic south corner office where Ford drew out his revolutionary idea serves as a reminder that creative imagination is the first step toward revolutionary invention.

Showcasing the gritty beginnings of American manufacturing supremacy, the Ford Piquette Plant is today a pilgrimage site for auto fans and the oldest standing auto factory available to the public anywhere.

Motown Museum Expansion

Name and Location: Hitsville U.S.A., home of the Motown Museum, is located at 2648 West Grand Blvd while its upcoming 50,000 square foot campus expansion engages more properties in surrounding blocks.

 Collections and Exhibits: The campus aims to house interactive exhibits plus a performance theater expanding content beyond the famed Hitsville Studio A itself, evolving into a world-class entertainment and education destination more fully conveying Motown’s legacy.

What to Expect: Once completed in 2025, guests will be able to take Hitsville tours while also exploring themed exhibits, rare artifact collections, retail shops and opportunities to discover or develop their own musical talents on one dynamic campus.

Visitor Information: While the campus takes shape, Motown Museum tours continue selling out daily inside humble Hitsville headquarters. Check motownmuseum.org for expansion updates, details on planned visitor experiences and timeline.

Even while the current little Motown Museum studio tells an incredible tale of enormous ideas nurtured in small spaces, the recently proposed $55 million extension promises to magnify Hitsville U.S.A.’s revolutionary history like never before. Anticipated to open in 2027, the Dynamic World of Motown project will have 50,000 square feet of interactive exhibitions, performance venues, and more.

Plans call for the Hitsville house tour to remain the main representation of Motown’s phenomenal success in the 1960s, which was fueled more by raw talent than by flashy equipment. Then, based on architectural projections, a sizable, contemporary building was built behind the historic house, complete with cutting-edge technology to completely immerse guests in the musical movement’s cultural heritage.

“Areas that celebrate artist development, costuming, choreography, stage design, and heritage galleries will help Detroit become a world-renowned destination for music tourism,” said founder Berry Gordy Jr.

The expanded Motown complex, which includes everything from music studios to live event spaces, seeks to illustrate what happens when we embrace creative vision while promoting community.Even while the current little Motown Museum studio tells an incredible tale of enormous ideas nurtured in small spaces, the recently proposed $55 million extension promises to magnify Hitsville U.S.A.’s revolutionary history like never before. Anticipated to open in 2027, the Dynamic World of Motown project will have 50,000 square feet of interactive exhibitions, performance venues, and more.

Plans call for the Hitsville house tour to remain the main representation of Motown’s phenomenal success in the 1960s, which was fueled more by raw talent than by flashy equipment. Then, based on architectural projections, a sizable, contemporary building was built behind the historic house, complete with cutting-edge technology to completely immerse guests in the musical movement’s cultural heritage.

“Areas that celebrate artist development, costuming, choreography, stage design, and heritage galleries will help Detroit become a world-renowned destination for music tourism,” said founder Berry Gordy Jr.

The expanded Motown complex, which includes everything from music studios to live event spaces, seeks to illustrate what happens when we embrace creative vision while promoting community.

Henry Ford Museum of Innovation

Name and Location: The Henry Ford Museum of Innovation continues the legacy institution’s current location at 20900 Oakwood Boulevard in Dearborn, MI 48124 near Detroit.

 Collections and Exhibits: As one united institution the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation will build on existing exhibits spanning American innovation from the 17th through 21st centuries while incorporating modern immersive experiences at an Innovation Hub on site at Ford research facilities.

What to Expect: Guests will be able to immerse in stories of revolutionary inventors who changed history through feats like the first self-propelled vehicle and the Soyuz spacecraft that housed astronauts. Stephenson’s Rocket, the Wright Flyer, Washington’s camp bed… and so much more.

Visitor Information: Core exhibits will remain open on a reimagined campus that allows guests to journey through the past into emerging innovation labs addressing the future – celebrating Detroit’s heritage as a crucible of life-changing ideas.

Naturally, the Henry Ford Museum is a destination for inquisitive minds, since it is America’s biggest shrine to American innovation that popularized automobiles, appliances, and other technologies that transformed everyday life. The 30,000-square-foot Henry Ford Museum of Innovation is currently under development, building on that groundbreaking aim.

The new location, which is intended to serve as a modern showcase with the goal of motivating future generations, will include entrepreneurs and innovations that highlight the strength of audacious thinking. The goal of the biotech, robotics, and 3D manufacturing exhibits is to demystify cutting-edge technology that are not yet apparent in daily life. Curiosity and problem-solving abilities are further fostered by lectures, interactive workshops, and community events.

Innovation is also included in the architecture of the upcoming museum, which features an adaptable structure called The Platform that will enable interior space modification when new frontiers are discovered over time. This ambitious addition aims to cultivate the next generation of ground-breaking ideas that have the potential to improve communities, much like Henry Ford did when he laid the foundation for whole businesses on the estate grounds.

Detroit Orchestra Hall

Name and Location: Orchestra Hall at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center is located at 3711 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201 in Midtown.

 Collections and Exhibits: As home of the acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra since 1919, the grand hall with renowned acoustics seats over 2,000 people to experience world-class musicians along with jazz groups, chamber orchestras and more.

What to Expect: Beneath an ornate ceiling reminiscent of a Venetian palace, visitors watching from tiered balconies are immersed in music performed within a National Historic Landmark that anchors Detroit’s Cultural Center district while welcoming students and aficionados.

Visitor Information: Year-round performances span classical masterpieces to movie soundtracks and special events. Showtimes are available at dso.org, with some free ensemble concerts but tickets purchased for most events.

The Max M. and Marjorie S. Orchestra Hall, which has been the home of the renowned Detroit Symphony Orchestra for more than 30 years, offers amazing acoustics that are only surpassed by the quirky art deco exterior elements.

Located next to the Detroit Public Library, this small but distinguished 2,000-seat theater features remarkable paintings by German-American painter William Edmondson, sparkling Czechoslovakian glass, and bespoke limestone carvings.

Renowned acoustician Minoru Nagata meticulously created the hall’s acclaimed sound qualities inside the dramatic auditorium, which enhance the strength and subtlety of the masterpieces played from the raised Neo-Renaissance style stage. Great composers’ works are praised by attendees for taking on deeper dimensions against the powerful aural background.

Orchestra Hall is one of Detroit’s top venues for the aural arts, hosting a variety of cultural events such as theater productions, jazz concerts, film screenings, and public speaking engagements in addition to the year-round symphony performances.

Michigan Science Center

Name and Location: The Michigan Science Center is located at 5020 John R St, Detroit, MI 48202 in Midtown right near the Detroit River.

 Collections and Exhibits: Over 250 hands-on exhibits allow kids to explore scientific concepts spanning physics, chemistry, space, biology and more through interactive experiences in labs and immersive environments.

What to Expect: Patrons discover the wonder of science first-hand while racing wind tunnels, playing music with lasers, piloting simulated ships through ice or watching live demos at one of Detroit’s top family destinations. A new habitat zone connects people with nature.

Visitor Information: The Michigan Science Center is open daily with timed-entry tickets required, including access to attractions like an IMAX Dome theater. Admission packages vary, with discounts for seniors, students, etc.

Even though Detroit still hears the famous Science Museum moniker from its 50-year existence, the cherished organization has carried on with its fantastic community goal after undergoing significant upgrades. The sleek, updated campus, which reopened in 2011 as the Michigan Science Center, has interactive galleries with intriguing exhibits on a variety of topics, including physics, technology, chemistry, space, and life sciences.

During a guided exploration of the cutting-edge world of electricity, test your athletic prowess against a simulation of an Olympic running champion or touch a massive Tesla coil. For a more immersive cinematic experience, moviegoers and stargazers flock to the Toyota Engineering 4D theater.

For students of all ages, continuous community events, day camps, workshops, and activities foster scientific curiosity across the lofty atrium and adjacent lab spaces. The Michigan Science Center makes exploration alluring, from learning coding ideas to investigating forensic investigative techniques.

Conclusion

Detroit honors its legendary past while also paving the way for the future with enduring tales of brilliant innovators, revolutionary designs, and trailblazing cultural creators etched into municipal history.

The city’s outstanding museums preserve famous objects from pivotal moments in history while providing inspirational stories through engaging interactive experiences.

you fully understand the depth of creativity thriving in these innovative corners that transformed the globe, just make sure you allot enough time for visiting Detroit’s museums.