MARVEL UNIVERSE OF SUPER HEROES

We always have a super time visiting The Henry Ford's Museum of American Innovation but had an exceptionally fantastic experience going to see the Marvel exhibit currently on display there. Marvel's Universe of Super Heroes delves into the history of the comic book publisher and how its characters have become pop culture sensations. From the very first super hero themed comic book released by Marvel to costumes and props from its recent movies there is a lot to geek out over on display at The Henry Ford.



Originally planned as a pre-pandemic exhibition an expansive space was planned out for people to wait in line to enter Marvel's Universe of Super Heroes. Now health safety protocols are in place so there is an interesting welcome area but it isn't packed with people as initially expected. Instead you reserve a specific time slot to show up with groups of no more than twelve people being admitted every ten minutes. The museum is taking crowd control very seriously in light of COVID-19.

Social distancing is encouraged and mask wearing is required by visitors within the museum. Please keep your masks on when taking selfies and group pictures while visiting the exhibit...and there are a lot of photo ops to be had! Mask Up Michigan!

There are a number of interactive opportunities to immerse yourself within the Marvel super hero universe while visiting The Henry Ford. My daughter was thrilled to participate in a virtual reality adventure that lets you jump in a suit of Iron Man armor and take it for a spin.

While my son was awed by a gallery of Iron Man suits from the Marvel movies.

My favorite Marvel character is Daredevil, criminal defense and personal injury attorney by day and crime fighting vigilante by night. I was geeked that he had his own gallery filled with comic book sketches, artwork and a costume of the hero used in the Netflix television show. One of this dad blogger's favorite aspects of the exhibit though there is a lot to enjoy.

Fans of the Marvel super hero movies will appreciate that a large selection of costumes and props have been brought to Detroit. My son hasn't stopped talking about seeing the Spider-Man costume worn by Tom Holland since our visit to Marvel's Universe of Super Heroes. He was also very excited to see up close a Captain America outfit that was worn by Chris Evans in the movies. Other cool items on display are props from Guardians of the Galaxy (including Peter Quill's Sony Walkman and the container used to hold the Power Stone), the Eye of Agamotto from Doctor Strange, and Thor's hammer Mjölnir.

Rare hand-drawn images of iconic heroes by the artists who designed them, original comic book art, as well as concept sketches, costumes and props from movies and television are marvelous to view. Plus there are lots of insights into the history of Marvel's super heroes and the people who created them. From a display about Marvel's newest fan-favorite character, Ms. Marvel and the recently introduced character Amulet whose hometown is Dearborn, Michigan (where The Henry Ford is located) to an original print of the very first super hero themed comic book published by Marvel this exhibit is a walk through encyclopedia of super hero goodness.

The highlight of the exhibit though are the life-size reproductions of a number of fan favorite super heroes. You won't want to miss out getting a selfie with Fantastic Four's Thing, Hulk, Black Panther or the Amazing Spider-Man! These photo ops bring the characters to life and provide nice mementos of the super time you are sure to have at Marvel's Universe of Super Heroes.

The Henry Ford is located at 20900 Oakwood Boulevard in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan. Marvel's Universe of Super Heroes is on display at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation now through January 31, 2020. General admission tickets (12+) are $35 per person and include admission to the museum in addition to the Marvel exhibit. Youth 5 to 11 years old are $28.75 each and Seniors (62+) are $32.50. 4 years old and under are FREE.

Don't hesitate to reserve some tickets because time slots do sell out. Go to thehenryford.org to purchase your tickets and obtain a time slot for an adventure into the Marvel universe. While there you may also want to check out The Henry Ford's outdoor historical attraction Greenfield Village.

We've been staying close to home during the pandemic and we needed to get out of the house! Visiting Marvel's Universe of Super Heroes was just what we needed. An exciting, fun experience that provided some escapism from today's troubling times. Excelsior!

NATIONAL AVIATION DAY

Air flight has become an integral aspect of our transportation system. With that in mind, you have to be amazed by the advancements made over the last century that make flying people and freight around the world commonplace. In the overall scope of history, it really hasn't been that long since the Wright brothers visited Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903 to launch the first successful airplane.

For NATIONAL AVIATION DAY, The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, thanks to a sponsorship from Delta Air Lines, is providing FREE admission on Sunday, September 18, 2019. The museum which is home to a variety of original and reproduced aircraft highlighting advancements in flight during the early to mid-20th Century is open from 9:30 am - 5:00 pm. The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is located in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan (also hometown of Ford Motor Company's world headquarters) at 20900 Oakwood Blvd.  While there, visitors can also explore the temporary Star Trek exhibit that is at the museum for a limited time engagement at no additional charge.

Admission to the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is normally $25 (Adults), $22 (Seniors) and $18 (Children) so NATIONAL AVIATION DAY is a good opportunity to really save some money when it comes to having a family outing there. Please note free admission does not apply to the attached Greenfield Village which will be charged to visitors on NATIONAL AVIATION DAY. Ticket prices for Greenfield Village are $28 (Adults), $25.25 (Seniors) and $21 (Children).

If you want to pay extra to visit Greenfield Village, there will be special activities revolving around the Wright Brothers as well as special access to their rarely seen private offices which normally are off limits to the public. Henry Ford purchased Orville and Wilbur Wright's bicycle shop (where they designed and manufactured the plane they flew in Kitty Hawk) and the home which they lived in their entire lives. These two buildings were transported from Dayton, Ohio to Greenfield Village in 1938 to be maintained and restored for future generations to appreciate. Historians will be stationed at both buildings on National Aviation Day to discuss the Wilbur brothers contributions to the development of airplanes and provide insight into these historic sites that have been relocated to Greenfield Village.

For those who just want to stick to Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, there is still a lot to see for National Aviation Day. The entire museum is open to explore for FREE. You won't want to miss the Heroes of the Sky gallery, especially if you are visiting on National Aviation Day.  There are more than a dozen planes to see!

View a replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer. Take a look at the 1909 Bleriot XI which was the first aircraft to cross the English Channel. Check out a 1926 Fokker Trimotor which was the first plane to fly to the North Pole. Following his success with the Model T, Henry Ford designed a plane meant to be sold to the masses, the 1926 Ford Flivver, which never took off with consumers and Charles Lindbergh called the worst plane he ever flew is also on display.

There is also a replica of Lindbergh's Spirt of St. Louis aircraft that he flew the first trans-Atlantic solo flight in and a display honoring aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. See an actual barnstormer plane that toured the country in the 1920s delighting crowds with death defying aerobatics. There are also a number of passenger planes to view including a Northwest Airlines DC-3 which was the first commercial aircraft to make a profit by solely carrying passengers to destinations. The DC-3 opened the door to the commercial air travel we know today.

Fly over to The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation to take advantage of FREE admission for National Aviation Day courtesy of Delta Air Lines. For more information, head over to thehenryford.org

FREE KIDS WEEKENDS AT THE HENRY FORD MUSEUM OF AMERICAN INNOVATION

Planes, trains and automobiles! The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn, Michigan is filled with mechanical creations and historical relics that showcase the social and technological evolution of the United States. Sitting in the actual bus where Rosa Parks took a stand for civil rights by refusing to give up her seat to a white man; walking amongst giant locomotives from a time when the railroads were the arteries of the nation's transportation system; pretending to be a barnstorming biplane wing walking acrobat; and making an MTV music video are just a few examples of the memorable moments families can have during a visit to The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. We've had some wonderful family outings to this museum ourselves and you are really missing out if a visit to The Henry Ford isn't on your to do list whether you live in or are visiting the Detroit area.

KIDS GET IN FREE

To encourage families to come out and explore the museum, kids get in FREE on the weekends from mid-January through March. Until March 31, 2019 use code KIDSFREE19 for a free youth admission with purchase of an adult admission. Take advantage of this promotion for your own family field trip to The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. Head over to thehenryford.org to find out more about the museum, plan your visit and purchase tickets online.

WEEKEND HOURS + SPECIAL ACTIVITIES

The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation hours on Saturdays and Sundays are 9:30 am to 5 pm. Macy's is hosting MAKE SOMETHING SATURDAYS very Saturday from the beginning of the year to May 25th providing an extra incentive for a weekend visit.  From 10 am - 3pm on these Saturdays, kids can engage in hands-on activities that let them tinker like an inventor. Each month will feature a different theme with activities for kid between the ages of 8 to 12 years old that are included at no additional charge with museum admission:

January 26 – "Stay Curious" starts off MAKE SOMETHNG SATURDAYS. What makes machines move? Choose from a variety of materials to create your own jittering machine. Recommended for ages 7+.

February – kids will explore the innovative work of African American artist, Aminah Robinson. Rather than simply writing her stories on paper, Aminah shared stories that combined her written words with traditional art materials, found objects, and everyday materials such as beads, buttons, cloth, leather, twigs, and shells to illustrate her work. Children will create paper beads and other objects as they write and illustrate their own one-of-a-kind story board.

March – Celebrate Women’s History Month by learning about amazing women innovators & inventors and what they accomplished through collaboration. Kids create puzzles that piece together a vision for the future.

April – To “Learn from Failure” may seem frustrating but it is a Habit of an Innovator that Thomas Edison embraced as necessary to success. He famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work." Kids learn from other’s famous failures, and their perseverance, and then join our quest to build the longest bridge together.

May – "Take Risks" is an important Habit of an Innovator. The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise took risks as they explored the galaxy on Star Trek. To celebrate the opening of the Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds exhibition, we will look at the props and futuristic devices used in the original TV series, its spinoffs and the films and create some space-age props of our own.

A GEEK DADDY ADVENTURES

This gear head car geek always enjoys checking out the incredible car collection on display at the museum. Vehicles on exhibit include the 1896 Quadricycle which was the first car built by Henry Ford, the 1902 Ford 999 which is one of the first drag racers, the 1965 Lotus-Ford Race Car that won the Indy 500 that year, and the Ford GT40 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four consecutive times, from 1966 to 1969. The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation is home to one of the most prestigious automobile collections in the world.

My son always enjoys climbing into the cab of the combine on display and pretending to harvest a farm's crops. The iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is one of his favorite exhibits too. My daughter loves to look over the museum's collection of antique doll houses and exploring the 1980s era bedroom that shows what life was like when her mom and dad where kids.

Read all about one of our family adventures to The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in this past ageekdaddy.com post.