For all the entries I’ve written and all the words I’ve typed, some things have slipped through the cracks and never made this blog. One of those things: The Michigan Historical Museum. Located in downtown Lansing, it is the most significant of the metro Lansing area’s museum offerings. Inspired by the possibility of free entrance during Archaeology Day, we were headed there for the first time in a couple years. Just a short distance from the house, we were in the parking lot staring at the white pine tree in the center of the building and preparing to go in.
As billed, the Michigan Historical Museum attempts as best it can to tell the history of the state of Michigan through its exhibits. Most of the space is spent on post-Colombian human habitation, which shouldn’t be any big surprise. Still, there’s enough about the native inhabitants of this space that there’s still the possibility of learning something, I suppose. Heck, I knew nothing of paleo-indian inhabitation of Michigan before this visit, so I’m testament to that. The more substantive exhibits generally deal with Michigan of the last 200 years and are very well presented. There’s the always popular “Streets of Old _____” type section, here offering tributes to Michigan’s palatial movie theaters. Pre- and Post-WW2 era Michigan also gets big nods, with examples of pre-fab housing, 50s era automobiles, big chunks of bombers, and much more. If you’re looking for something a little more exotic for a theme to learn about, the northern sections of the state get some love w/ big mining and logging exhibits. Even the life of the logger barons is reviewed.
Since this was a special event celebrating archaeology in the state, where were a number of booths and tables set up with information and some exhibits of their own. We didn’t spend a ton of time with these not being the sort of people to want to volunteer for this, but I did take an informational brochure for snorkel trips to the Thunder Bay National Lakeshore Reserve, but otherwise, we just quickly perused the collections of arrowheads and primitive stone tools. There was also a pretty decent temporary exhibit about the Michigan’s weather too.
If there’s a downside to the museum, it is that even on free days like this, they don’t bother to open up the padlocked gates and doors that used to to be freely open when there was no charge to enter the museum. There’s a very nice center, open air space with benches that could have even been used by some of the exhibitors, but then that would have involved more labor than the museum’s paltry budget likely could afford. That’s too bad. Maybe one day the charge can be removed and it can return to what it was 4-5 years ago, but I’m not holding my breath. As is, it is a good stop for a couple hours and would serve well for a visitor looking to learn something beyond a dry wikipedia reading of the state’s history.
For something that operates as more of a living history, there’s Clara’s Lansing Station. Located inside the Union Station building on Michigan Ave., the conversion to restaurant has worked out just fine for Clara’s. Today, Clara’s is an institution that’s operated for 35 years and offers the city’s most well known Sunday brunch. This being a Saturday and early for lunch, we didn’t encounter enormous crowds. There’s a pretty big menu to page through and our sandwiches that we ended up eating were plenty tasty.
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