Henry Ford’s Innovations in Detroit

As you arrive in Detroit, you’ll notice the traffic, even if you come by plane. There are lots of cars buzzing all over the city, and you’re about to learn about one of the men who’s the reason they’re here at all!

Today, you’re heading to The Henry Ford Museum. It’s home to many notable automobile exhibits, most famously The Goldenrod, the Kennedy Presidential Limousine, and Rosa Parks’ bus. A tour guide will tell you about these cars and Henry Ford’s career. Later, get together with some other guests and work on a simulated car assembly line. It’s tiny and wooden, of course, but it will give you an idea of the process workers went through to create even just one automobile.

Remember the little taste of the assembly line you got yesterday? Now it’s time to see a real one in action! You’ll get an inside look into how Ford makes a more contemporary truck, the Ford F-150. You’ll watch the assembly in real time, getting to see how the process has evolved over the years.

It’s time to make a difference! You’ll be volunteering with Meals on Wheels, a service that delivers meals to people who live at home but can’t prepare or purchase their own meals, mostly seniors. Nearly 9 million seniors face the threat of hunger, so this is an important cause! You’ll help prepare the meals and then tag along with a driver to meet some of the people who benefit from the program.

Next, you’ll visit the Automotive Hall of Fame. This museum will teach you more about Henry Ford and other innovators in the auto industry, but perhaps most exciting is the automobile eye candy. The cars are shiny, beautiful, and colorful. Make sure to take some pictures with them!

In 1933, Henry Ford created Greenfield Village. He wanted to show how Americans lived and worked during the country’s early years. Ford reconstructed buildings here including the Wright Brothers bicycle shop, the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law, and Thomas Edison’s laboratory. You’ll take a guided tour of the village and learn more information about the collector side of Ford. And once you’ve seen the buildings and done some historical activities (butter churning, anyone?), you’ll take a ride in an authentic Model T car!

Now, you’ll tour the birthplace of the Model T: the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant! The Model T was the most significant automobile of the 20th century, and the first 12,000 were assembled right here! It’s the oldest auto manufacturing plant open to the public, and your tour guide will explain its history to you.

It’s a shame to leave, but you’ve learned so much! You’ll appreciate cars more when you get back. Open up the windows and feel the wind in your hair.