Michigan History Center — Attraction in Lansing

I read in a Lansing visitor's guide the Michigan History Center is listed on the top five activities for kids, although as an adult, I can say I enjoyed the museum as well. The museum is three floors and has interactive displays from riding a big wheel bicycle to walking through a coal mine to a classroom setup to walk through to read and hear about individuals' lives and perspectives. The museum is 8$ for adults (the website says Sunday is free admission). Michigan is rich with history from brands we still recognize today in so many industries, from cereal to music to automobiles; the museum encompasses a lot of information. The visitor entrance is on the ground level, instead of walking up the stairs, which looks like the more obvious way to enter, you go down the stairs. As an added bonus, the trees leading up to the entrance give off a pleasant smell. Free 2 hr parking is available just off the Allegan and Butler...

It seems better to go on a weekend - there is free admission/parking on Sundays. If you go during the week you have to pay $5 for parking on top of admission and are subject to loud school field trips. I went on a Friday, thinking it would be a nice quiet visit but unfortunately a field trip showed up the same time I did (despite the website stating they limit group trips to Mon-Thur only). I didn't really enjoy this visit fully as the kids were loud and distracting (not totally the museum's fault, I know - but again, per their website these groups shouldn't have been there on a Friday anyway). Perhaps some guidelines need to be put in place on the field trip organizers/chaperones that volume needs to be kept at a tolerable level? It's a well-done museum with lots of nice exhibits, just plan your trip accordingly and know if you go at any time during the week you are at risk of running into...

This place is incredible! I learned SO MUCH about the history of Michigan, especially that of the Upper Peninsula.

I would suggest planning a whole day to be at this museum. It's small in comparison to the Royal Ontario Museum, but it is PACKED with very interesting artifacts and information. This means it's very doable for someone whose disability makes it difficult to walk or stand for long periods.

The docents are kind and knowledgeable, and are just as eager as I am to learn new things! It's fairly obvious I'm Canadian from my accent and pronunciation, so the one docent asked me if I could speak French. I can, so they asked me to confirm their pronunciation of the French terms that the exhibit on the voyageurs used. Michigan and Ontario's histories are very much intertwined, and it was amazing to see just how much.

If I could give this place six...