Cars Of The Henry Ford Museum - Part 1

The Henry Ford Museum is located in Dearborn, Michigan just right outside of Motor City Detroit. The Henry Ford Museum isn't just a museum for cars but for many other things of interest to people. Whether you are a car person or just interested in any type of American history, you will enjoy this museum thoroughly. Watch and read below to learn about the transportation portion of the Henry Ford Museum.

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The Presidential Cars Exhibit

The first exhibit we came into was the presidential cars which includes the horse-drawn carriage used by Theodore Roosevelt and parade cars that carried Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and G.W. Bush. The most prominent presidential parade car in the exhibit is the Lincoln Continental Limousine that carried John F. Kennedy when he was assassinated in November 1963.

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Driving America Exhibit

The Driving America Exhibit really transports you back in time and brings you through the years of driving innovation. You will see cars that influenced culture and tells a story of how much the automotive industry has grown through the years. Included in this exhibit is the 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale Convertible which is a behemoth of a vehicle but it was probably one of my favorites. You will see the Texaco gas station set up with 1940 "Fire-Chief" Texaco gas pumps, a look at a service station and a Texaco truck. Some other cool things that are included are the neon lights that are featured with some of these cars. Like the Holiday Inn sign with the 1950s Corvette and Desoto, the 1955 Douglas Auto Theater sign and the McDonald's sign in front of the period-correct diner in the museum.

Railroads Exhibit

It's pretty hard to miss the huge locomotives on display in the museum. Included in this display is one of the largest steam locomotives ever built. It's the 1941 Allegheny locomotive that is 125-feet long designed for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. Other locomotives that are featured are the 1924 Railroad refrigerator car used by fruit growers express., the Bango & Aroostook Passenger Coach replica and the "Sam Hill" Steam Locomotive from 1858.

Heroes of the Sky Exhibit

The Henry Ford also has a plane exhibit that explores the early years of flight, the first 50 years to be exact. You will discover the science, enterprise and evolution of flight through the displays and experiences. Some of the planes you will see is the 1925 Fokker F. VII Tri-Motor Airplane "Josephine Ford". This plane is interesting because it was flown over the North Pole by explorer Richard Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett. Edsel Ford financed the expedition and Byrd names the plane after Ford's daughter for that reason. Other planes you will see include a replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer which I hold dear to my heart with the history of the Wright brothers in Dayton, OH - read more here. You will also see the 1928 4-AT-B Ford Tri-Motor Airplane, "Floyd Bennett". This plane was flown over the South Pole by Richard Byrd and his team being the first people to fly over the South Pole.

It's so interesting to learn about the innovation and evolution of transportation throughout the years. Besides the above exhibits, you will see race cars, autocamping, vans, buses, electric cars, family cars and every car in between. We also participated in some fun activities like a pit stop simulation and we got to the car icon - The Oscar Mayer Weenie Mobile!

How long does it take to walk through the Henry Ford Museum?

I highly recommend getting to the museum when they open at 9:30 am or early on in the day. We got to The Henry Ford at 9:30 am and didn't leave until almost 4 pm and that was without doing some of the activities available and without reading all the plaques for the exhibits. The museum closes at 5 pm so you can spend the whole day there and still not see everything. There is also the Rouge Factory Tour and Greenfield Village that we were not able to do because you can spend the entire day at the museum. So you might want to take a few days if you want to experience everything.

How much does it cost to go to the Henry Ford Museum?

General admission into the museum is $30, the Greenfield Village is $33, Rouge Factory Tour is $24 and the Giant Screen experience is $10. The museum does provide a membership for those who are interested it looks like they start at $60 and go up to $380. You can check their website for more details on memberships and packages available. One thing I will add is that the staff at the museum was so friendly, from the time we walked into the museum until we left I felt welcomed and like they would be ready to help/answer any questions we had.

With 250 acres of museum, it's hard to not find something interesting and educational. I'm ready to go back and read through more things, see some things that I didn't get to see and hopefully visit Greenfield Village. I'm hoping either later this year or early next year to go to the village and give you a blog on this awesome experience.

I will end this by telling you to go! It's completely worth it and you will not regret it!

Read more: Must See: The United States Air Force Museum