It began as a simple yet courageous idea to document the lives of ordinary people by recognizing and protecting the objects they used in the course of their everyday lives. It grew into the ultimate place to explore what Americans past and present have imagined and invented — a remarkable target that brings American ideas and innovations to life. This is theHenryFordMuseum.
The pure scope and design of theHenryFordMuseumis as grand as the vision that inspired it. It’s impossible not to feel a sense of awe as your mind adjusts to a different sense of scale — more vast, more expansive and more diverse— by far— than anything you’ll encounter in everyday life.
Catie Pietsch, a senior here at Milford says “It teaches us about so many different points throughout history, keeping the exhibits engaging and exciting. It is probably the best museum I’ve visited so far, and I enjoyed every bit of my visit there.”
The stellar museum is a single-floor space with soaring 40-foot ceilings covering nine acres that are dedicated to showcasing the finest collection of its kind ever assembled. It began as Henry Ford’s personal collection of historic objects, which he began collecting as far back as 1906. Today, the sight holds a collection of antique machinery, pop culture items, automobiles, locomotives, and aircrafts. The national historic landmark also holds rare wonders, such as John F. Kennedy’s presidential limousine, Abraham Lincoln’s chair from Ford’s theatre, Thomas Edison’s laboratory, the Wright Brothers’ bicycle shop, and the Rosa Parks bus.
Gary Zahn, a student at MHS, explains how the museum brings the wonderfilled past to the present. “ If we don’t educate people on how we did stuff back in the day, how will we learn to do it in the future?” he states. “The museum is a historical monument of doing just that.”