Events, News January 13, 2013

A Night at the Henry Ford Museum #FordNAIAS

The entrance is impressive…

I’m here in Detroit with David Goodspeed (boy, does that man know his cars!), thanks to Ford, who brought us out to Motor City for the North American International Auto Show as part of #FordNAIAS. We spent this evening at the Henry Ford Museum, and we were given the opportunity to simply wander the museum on our own. It was nothing short of amazing.

As our friend Paul Strauss of The Awesomer put it, it felt as if we were in a sequel to the film Night at the Museum. The Henry Ford Museum truly is an awesome place. If you haven’t been, then put it on your bucket list!

The Model T Exposed…

Not familiar with the Henry Ford Museum? Here’s how the website describes it.

The sheer scope and design of Henry Ford Museum is 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.

The museum brings US history to life, because within its walls are some of the more remarkable pieces of American history. The first surprise I encountered was this…

The car was center stage in shaping the last decades of the 20th century.

Yes, this is the actual car in which President Kennedy was riding when he was assassinated. The limo President Reagan was in when he was shot is also there.

The actual bus where the civil rights movement was started.

The actual bus Rosa Parks rode in, on the day she inspired the Civil Rights Movement, is there too.

The most infamous theater chair ever.

And the actual chair President Lincoln sat in the night he was shot? It is there too.

The museum isn’t just about Presidents and shootings however. In that one single building you’ll find the history of the automobile, not in pictures or words, but in cars. Here’s just a quick look.

The entrance is impressive…

…truly impressive…

And while this is the Ford Museum it houses more than automobiles.

More like THE bus where the civil rights movement was sparked.

About Dan Cohen

View all posts by Dan Cohen

Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him.

http://twitter.com/dougom Douglas Moran

I like the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car!
cgavula

Since I grew up and spent most of my life in the Detroit area, I have been to the museum (and the accompanying village) many,many times (I used to hold an annual pass). My mom and I would frequently wander over there and just spend an afternoon looking around. No matter how many times I go there I always find something that grabs my attention. Love the place! There are some things there you will never see anywhere else. Glad you got to see it!