The Michigan History Center is free on Sundays in Lansing, Michigan’s state capital. I don’t think the downstairs gallery on prehistoric Michigan and nature is worth too much time. After all, Michigan is known to be an industrial state at the heart of America, so modern history on its manufacturing prowess is more interesting.
The museum takes you through different eras of history from the 1900s when cars first emerged on a commercial scale to the futurism of the 1960s. There are recreated production lines and car showrooms from 100 years ago with authentic parts, complete two-storey city streets from mid-century America, and rooms in homes with appliances authentic to their era.
In the 1940s, all of Michigan’s industrial might was converted to produce war materiel. The second interstate in the country was built to transport goods for war factories, Willys started making Jeeps, Ford churned out a bomber every hour. There were factories where tens of thousands of workers were employed in one location to keep replacing equipment destroyed in Europe and the Pacific. Michigan helped America become the world’s war factory.
