Michigan's Military Heritage Museum — Attraction in Jackson

This museum has a really cool collection and I do recommend a visit. There was one main issue that seriously hindered our enjoyment: the staff member/guide person would.not.stop.talking. I appreciated his passion and knowledge of obscure facts. However, the constant drone of his voice made it difficult to focus on reading comprehension. He was initially talking to another couple and then turned to us and I tried to tell him as politely as I could that we just wanted to read the exhibits and did not want a guide. I explained that I find it difficult to comprehend what I am reading when someone is talking. He said okay and promptly went back to the other couple and talked at them for a half hour straight before we finally left. It was a serious hindrance to our enjoyment of what would otherwise be a cool little collection. I found myself wishing I had earplugs. I think a person in that role should flat out ask, would you like me to guide you through the museum, or do you prefer to be left alone. Anyway, the other small issue is that there were important exhibits with no explanation. One exhibit had a great collection of WW1 helmets, mixed in with some random modern-day statuettes. There were tags explaining the random statuettes, and no tags for the much cooler helmets. I knew one was German but had no idea about any of the others. Another example: a historic German Imperial flag. I did not recognize the flag so would have had no idea of its significance as it had no label. Luckily my husband recognized it. There were other historical flags also with no labels. I recognized them but was curious about how old they were and any other tidbits of information. All in all, yes this is worth an hour or so of your time. But be prepared...

Michigan Military Heritage Museum tells you what this museum covers. They have items from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, both World Wars, Vietnam, Grenada and the War on Terror. Impressive array of firearms and uniforms. Small entrance fee. They have plans to grow as they have more artifacts than the current building can allow. If you're interested in this topic of Michigan history give them a visit....

Filed under: "be a tourist in your own town"

Even being a military history enthusiast I was unaware that the Michigan Military Heritage Museum existed until I drove past it a couple of months ago. I visited with my father and I enjoyed the well laid out museum that covers uniforms and arms in roughly a chronological order starting with the early colonial period to the...