Dearborn, Michigan (Detroit Area) (One-Day Tour)

The Dearborn area was first settled by Europeans in 1791.  The village of Dearborn was established in 1836 and named after patriot Henry Dearborn, a general in the American Revolution and Secretary of War under President Thomas Jefferson.  Today Dearborn is a city of nearly 100,000 people located in the Metro Detroit metropolitan area, and is the 10th largest city in Michigan.  The city is the hometown of Henry Ford and the world headquarters of the Ford Motor Company and the site of a University of Michigan campus.  Dearborn is the home of Michigan's leading tourist attraction – the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.

AUTOMOTIVE HALL OF FAME

The Automotive Hall of Fame is both a student’s attraction and an educational resource for inspiring others to higher levels of achievement in their own work and lives.  Students will experience automotive history through visual and interactive exhibits, automobiles and authentic artifacts.  To educate and encourage the next generation of industry participants, student groups are always welcome.

DETROIT HISTORICAL MUSEUM

For more than 76 years the Detroit Historical Museum has helped students understand and interpret Detroit’s past – from its early days as a French colonial settlement to its development into the Motor City.  Engaging exhibits and special programs offer educators the chance to enhance their classroom curriculum through hands-on learning opportunities.  Your docent will guide students through important historic moments in Detroit’s history.  This ‘active learning’ experience places students in an historical setting, gives them information and a problem to solve, and allows them to use their creativity and analytical reasoning skills to arrive at a solution.

FORD ROUGE FACTORY TOUR

The Ford Rouge Factory Tour is a first-hand journey behind the scenes of a modern, working automobile factory.  Built by Henry Ford to make Ford Model T components and later the birthplace (and former production line) of the Ford Mustang, it currently produces Ford F-150 trucks.  At one time the plant employed 120,000 people and produced finished vehicles from iron ore and sand.  Boarding buses at the Henry Ford Museum, students are taken to the River Rouge Plant and Dearborn Truck Plant for a firsthand experience.  It should be noted that students witness only the final assembly of vehicles.

GREENFIELD VILLAGE

Greenfield Village is considered the first and largest outdoor museum in America.  Nearly 100 historical buildings were moved to the property from their original locations and arranged in a ‘village’ setting.  The museum's intent is to show how Americans lived and worked since the founding of the country.  The Village includes buildings from the 17th century to the present, many of which are staffed by costumed interpreters who conduct period tasks like farming, sewing and cooking.  A collection of craft buildings such as a pottery shop, glass-blowing shop and tin shop provide demonstrations while producing materials used in the Village and for sale.  Greenfield Village has 240-acres of land of which only 90-acres are used for the attraction, the rest being forest, river and extra pasture for the sheep and horses.  The transportation system provides rides by steamboat, horse-drawn omnibus, steam locomotive, a 1931 Model AA bus (one of about 15 left known to exist) and authentic Ford Model Ts.

HENRY FORD ESTATE (FAIR LANE)

A stately self-contained enclave of privacy and natural beauty tucked away on 1,300-acres of rambling Dearborn farmland.  The Henry Ford Estate, including 72 of the original 1,300-acres, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.  Public tours of the historic home were re-introduced in the 1970s.  Since then, a large staff, generous contributors and approximately 250 volunteers successfully continue the process of rebuilding the estate and reviving its former splendor.  Work has been undertaken to preserve and protect the site for future generations.  Interior rooms and five acres of gardens and grounds have been renewed and restored.  Fair Lane stands today as a true reflection of Clara and Henry Ford’s interests and ideals.  Your visit includes a guided tour of the home and self-exploration of the grounds.

HENRY FORD MUSEUM & IMAX THEATRE

The Henry Ford Museum is the nation's largest indoor-outdoor history museum complex and the number one student destination in the Midwest.  More than a museum, it is a museum-entertainment complex where patrons can take a ride in a Model T, ride the train, visit the IMAX Theater or see a live show.  Named for its founder, the noted automobile industrialist Henry Ford and based on his desire to preserve items of historical significance and portray the Industrial Revolution, the property houses a vast array of famous homes, machinery, exhibits and Americana.  The 12-acre collection contains many rare exhibits including John F. Kennedy's limousine, Abraham Lincoln's chair from Ford's Theater, Thomas Edison's laboratory and the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop.  As Henry Ford once said of his museum, ‘I am collecting the history of our people as written into things their hands made and used…When we are through, we shall have reproduced American life as lived, and that, I think, is the best way of preserving at least a part of our history and tradition…’

Discovery Tours, Inc.
24719 Dundee Drive
Cleveland, OH 44143

TOLL FREE NATIONWIDE
P:  (800) 590.2669
P:  (216) 531.8884
F:  (216) 531.8885
info@discoverycleveland.com

Home | Student Tours | Baseball Tours | Motor Coach Tours | Cruise Adventures
Natural Heritage Tours | Vacation Getaways | Group Travel | Railroad Adventures
Disney World Vacations | General Tour Information | Frequent Traveler Program
Travel Shows | Newsletters | Downloads | Site Map | Contact Us

Copyright © 2008 Discovery Tours, Inc.  All rights reserved.  Legal Notices.
Discovery Tours and find more to discover are service marks of Discovery Tours, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.