Minerals? Magic? 7 museums around Michigan worth checking out

Air Zoo – Portage , Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum – Paradise , Sloan Museum of Discovery – Flint, American Museum of Magic – Marshall , Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History – Detroit , Arab American National Museum – Dearborn , A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum of Michigan – Houghton 

Michigan is home to dozens of museums — some big, some small, some considered iconic institutions, and some carrying and preserving the legacies of local history in small towns around the state. 

Widely known museums, like the Detroit Institute of Arts or the Michigan Museum of Natural History, draw thousands of visitors each year. But scattered throughout parts of Michigan are dozens more museums, each featuring a piece of history. Here are seven more Michigan museums of all sizes worth checking out: 

Air Zoo – Portage 

Located in southwest Michigan, the Air Zoo offers exhibits showcasing the history of aeronautics. The museum features more than 100 air and space artifacts, according to its website, as well as full-motion flight simulators, which are included with the cost of admission.  

Address: 6151 Portage Road, Portage, MI 

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum – Paradise 

Air Zoo – Portage , Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum – Paradise , Sloan Museum of Discovery – Flint, American Museum of Magic – Marshall , Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History – Detroit , Arab American National Museum – Dearborn , A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum of Michigan – Houghton 

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point includes a variety of displays, from the famous lighthouse to a 1940s-era lifeboat to the restored lighthouse keeper’s quarters to the 200-pound bronze bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Open from the start of May through the end of October, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum offers a peek into the history of the ill-fated voyages along Michigan’s shipwreck coast of Lake Superior. The museum notably houses the bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the famous steamship which wrecked in 1975 and was immortalized in Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” 

Address: 18335 North Whitefish Point Road, Paradise, MI 

Sloan Museum of Discovery – Flint

Air Zoo – Portage , Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum – Paradise , Sloan Museum of Discovery – Flint, American Museum of Magic – Marshall , Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History – Detroit , Arab American National Museum – Dearborn , A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum of Michigan – Houghton 

The Sloan Museum of Discovery in Flint features four new interactive history and science galleries.

In Flint, the Alfred P. Sloan Museum of Discovery offers a series of rotating exhibits as well as several galleries, including some that offer hands-on learning experiences. Along with the exhibits and galleries, Sloan's historical archives contain 52,000 artifacts and more than 300,000 other historical materials. The Longway Planetarium is also a short trip, just across the street from the museum.

Address: 1221 East Kearsley Street, Flint, MI

American Museum of Magic – Marshall 

Air Zoo – Portage , Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum – Paradise , Sloan Museum of Discovery – Flint, American Museum of Magic – Marshall , Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History – Detroit , Arab American National Museum – Dearborn , A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum of Michigan – Houghton 

The American Museum of Magic in Marshall holds roughly 10,000 artifacts in the museum and another 800,000 stored elsewhere

First opened in 1978, the American Museum of Magic in downtown Marshall bills itself as the largest collection of magic artifacts in the U.S., containing more than 3,000 posters, 12,000 books and 20,000 photographs. From November through March, the museum is open by appointment only but returns to normal hours the rest of the year. Each Saturday at 1 p.m., visitors can watch a magic show that’s included with the cost of admission. 

Address: 107 East Michigan, Marshall, MI 

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History – Detroit 

Air Zoo – Portage , Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum – Paradise , Sloan Museum of Discovery – Flint, American Museum of Magic – Marshall , Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History – Detroit , Arab American National Museum – Dearborn , A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum of Michigan – Houghton 

In Detroit, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is the second-largest museum in the world focused on Black history, according to Pure Michigan. The 125,000 square-foot museum contains over 35,000 artifacts. Its mission statement says the museum “opens minds and changes lives through the exploration and celebration of African American history and culture.” 

Address: 315 East Warren Avenue, Detroit, MI 

Arab American National Museum – Dearborn 

Air Zoo – Portage , Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum – Paradise , Sloan Museum of Discovery – Flint, American Museum of Magic – Marshall , Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History – Detroit , Arab American National Museum – Dearborn , A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum of Michigan – Houghton 

Address: 13624 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, MI 

A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum of Michigan – Houghton 

On Michigan Technological University’s campus in Houghton is the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum, which has earned the designation as the state’s official mineral museum. The Seaman museum houses more than 40,000 samples of rocks and minerals native to the Great Lakes region.  

Address: 1404 Sharon Ave, Houghton, MI 

Contact Arpan Lobo: [email protected]

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