Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford Museum

 

It seemed like we went back in time when we entered Greenfield Village.  We had a last minute change of plans and had to change directions and book this trip just the day before.  Luckily I had already learned about it and knew what to expect.   Dearborn, Michigan is home to a few very interesting places.  Two of them that Tibbs and I got to experience on this trip were Greenfield Village, and the Henry Ford Museum. After we parked and went to the Village entrance Tibbs and I were again asked if he was a service dog, and three tasks he is trained to assist me with.  We then joined the rest of my family and journeyed back in time to see how things used to be done.  They have many historical buildings showing an old farm and garden with the hand tools and plows displayed.  On a nice day you can even see the workers using them on the fields and gardens they have there.  They have a building showing how printing presses started, glass blowing and making, cloth and fabric making, woodworking, and so much more.  They had old Ford vehicles and house drawn carriages taking people around the small town in these transportation options.  They also had a train at the front entrance that you could ride around and get off at different stops. They showed how to make things the old fashioned way and sold them in the gift shop.  They had buildings set up with displays to talk about people like the Wright Brothers.  They had a replica of Thomas Edison's shop and showed his inventions and how they worked.  The workers there had all kinds of information and loved to share it. Since many of the areas were historic many of them were not wheelchair accessible.  They had markings for steps and tight areas, and sometimes Tibbs and I would have to back out or go another way than what was normally directed.  It was frustrating a few times when there were stairs and I couldn't access the exhibit.  I will say that the staff was excellent and sometimes would bring over an Ipad to show me what the areas I could not get to were like (and I think maybe even gave me some extra details that are not normally on the tour). We had gotten there just when it opened to avoid the crowds. It was a really warm day and we had decided to do the village first so we could enjoy the air conditioning of the museum as it got too warm out. 

  

  
  

  

  

 

We headed just across the street to the Henry Ford Museum next. This was much more wheelchair accessible and there were only a few activities I could not do.  As it was a new entrance TTibbs opened up the doors for me with the buttons, then we went to the ticket check in and answered our favorite service dog questions;)  We went in the entrance nearest the village, and they had giant trains that you could climb stairs to go see.  Tibbs and I could go right up beside them ans see how much bigger they were than us.  They had a huge car display with vehicles that were built through the years, and it really showed how much they have changed over the years.  My favorite were the Presidential cars and they information they gave about why they made them each the way they did.  They had a huge aircraft display that you could see at ground level or from above.  Tibbs and I took the elevator up to see the aircraft from above as well.   They had an exhibit with Hallmark ornaments through the decades it had rooms full of display ornaments.  Since Christmas is my favorite holiday I found this display particularly interesting. 

   

  

  

Really the museum and Village are both so large you could spend days there.  We only had half a day at the museum and village so we made the most of our time.  I really enjoyed the interactive Mathematica exhibit. It used multiplication, probabilities, and geometry to make a fantastic hands on math adventure. They had a Julia Child exhibit that even let Tibbs and I pretend to host our own cooking show.  They had furniture displays, a Rosa Parks exhibit and bus, doll houses, and more.  They had so many more exhibits but it would take too long to tell you all about them. 

  

  

Tibbs was an amazing museum and village tour partner.   He helped me navigate around the museum, opened doors, picked up items I dropped, and allowed me to navigate and explore with independence. 

The village does get very warm so we were sure to get mushers cream on Tibbs feet and reapply it often. The train tracks and mixture of stones, pavement, rocks, dirt, and grass were different at every turn and anyone with mobility challenges would want to plan ahead.  We were so exhasted after this exciting day Tibbs slept almost the whole way home!  You will need to plan your own adventure to check it all out.  I am sure Tibbs and I will be making a return trip in the future.