10 Best Museums in Detroit

The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is a fascinating museum that shows off technologies and advancements created by American minds. At this museum, you'll be able to see exhibits showcasing the Wright brothers, architect Buckminster Fuller, and even Rosa Parks, who changed the notion of what equality truly means.

A lot of this museum is interactive, letting you experience some great innovations like planes and space shuttles. Because of this interactivity, families with younger kids can especially enjoy themselves. You can see it for yourself around Dearborn, a few miles west of downtown.

The Detroit Institute of Arts is home to an immense collection of artworks with what is known as an encyclopedic collection that you can explore. This collection contains more than 65,000 works across 658,000 square feet of exhibit space that contains over 100 galleries.

An encyclopedic collection means it isn't restricted to one particular art movement, time period, or geographic location. Instead, you'll find a wide range of works, with some being thousands of years old, from ancient Egypt to others created by artists who are still alive. You can see it for yourself in the Cultural Center just north of Midtown.

The Motown Museum chronicles the history of Motown Records in the very house where the label got its start with the studio remarkably well-preserved. The museum is home to artifacts and memorabilia from the label's heyday when it attained mainstream success.

When you visit this museum, you'll be able to see the original studio setup in the house, known as Hitsville U.S.A., including the equipment that was used in the '50s and '60s. This museum is also home to a legendary Hammond B3 organ and an 1877 Steinway & Sons Model D grand piano. You'll find it in the Henry Ford district north of downtown.

Greenfield Village is a living history museum designed to mimic what life was like in the area during the early 20th century with numerous attractions to visit within. Inside this museum, you'll find historic buildings in a village layout with some dating back to the 17th century. Costumed interpreters are found throughout, showcasing historical tasks and methods such as farming, cooking, and sewing.

Some of the most popular demonstrations here are the crafters who show off how people used to create pottery, tin, and glass. Additionally, you can visit Thomas Edison's laboratory and the home of the Wright brothers that was moved here from Dayton, Ohio, in 1937. Greenfield Village is located in Dearborn a few miles west of downtown.

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is a fascinating museum that houses a wealth of artifacts related to African American culture. More than 35,000 artifacts are housed here, making it one of the largest collections of African American artifacts in the world.

When you visit, you'll be able to explore a variety of exhibits showcasing important events and people from African American history such as the Underground Railroad, Malcolm X, and Aretha Franklin. You'll find it in the Cultural Center around Midtown.

Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum is an unusual and interesting museum that houses a variety of oddities like animatronic dummies, mechanical games, and other machines. Most of the machines on display are still entirely functional, so you can see them in action yourself.

The collection is packed full of odd machines including the fortune teller machine that was so popular in local fairs and amusement parks decades ago. You'll also find darker machines like the dreaded electric chair from the Sing Sing prison and a strange food inspector with a function you'll have to see to believe. It's located in Farmington Hills a few miles northwest of downtown.

The Michigan Science Center is a science museum and Smithsonian affiliate that offers a wide variety of exhibits and interactive activities. More than 220 of these interactive activities are available alongside live shows and special pop-up demonstrations.

Given the interactivity of many of the exhibits and collections here, it's an ideal museum for families to visit. Additionally, you'll find an IMAX Dome theater, a planetarium, and a 4D theater. You can experience it for yourself in the Cultural Center around northern Midtown.

The Detroit Historical Museum chronicles the history of the city going back to when it was founded centuries ago. You'll find artifacts from centuries past from Detroit's days as a hub for fur trading up through when it became an industrial powerhouse.

One of the more fascinating exhibits at this museum is the Streets of Old Detroit exhibit. While you'll have to use your imagination a bit to pretend the ceiling isn't there, the floor and surroundings can make you feel as if you're walking the historical streets with cobblestone roads, horse anchors, and retro shops. See it for yourself in upper Midtown.

The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is a historic landmark and museum where you can explore the history of the auto industry where the Model T was developed. The building dates back to the early 20th century, constructed in 1904 as a production center for the Ford Motor Company.

This former production plant was where the first Ford Model T was produced. This is the car that started the automotive industry in the country, and you can learn all about it through various exhibits and artifacts from the area. It's available on the street of the same name in Medbury Park.

The Dossin Great Lakes Museum is a maritime museum where you'll find a variety of exhibits showcasing the history of the city and region as it relates to the water. The museum is relatively small in size, measuring just 16,000 square feet, but that's more than enough space to show off its special-interest collection.

When you visit this museum, you'll find one of the largest collections of model ships in the world along with pieces of actual ships like the bow anchor of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, a historic Great Lakes freighter. You can explore the entire collection yourself on Belle Isle in the river east of downtown.