The Henry Ford - Henry Ford Museum

Henry Ford Museum

Henry Ford Museum began as Henry Ford's personal collection of historic objects, which he began collecting as far back as 1906. Today, the 12 acre (49,000 m²) site is primarily a collection of antique machinery, pop culture items, automobiles, locomotives, aircraft, and other items:

• The museum features an IMAX Theater, which shows scientific, natural, or historical documentaries; as well as major feature films.
• A model of the nuclear-powered Ford Nucleon automobile
• An Oscar Mayer Wienermobile
• The 1961 Lincoln Continental, SS-100-X, that President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated
• The rocking chair from Ford's Theatre in which President Abraham Lincoln was sitting when he was shot
• George Washington's camp bed.
• A ten-person safety bicycle made in 1896
• A collection of several fine 17th and 18th century violins including a Stradivarius.
• Thomas Edison's alleged last breath in a sealed tube.
• Buckminster Fuller's prototype Dymaxion house.
• The bus on which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott
• Igor Sikorsky's prototype helicopter.
• Fokker Trimotor airplane that flew the first flight over the North Pole.
• Bill Elliott's record-breaking race car clocking in at over 212 MPH at Talledega in 1987
• The Newcomen type engine from Cobb's Engine House in England.
• The Automotive Hall of Fame is adjacent to the Henry Ford Museum.
• A working fragment of the original Holiday Inn "Great Sign"
• Behind the scenes, the Benson Ford Research Center uses the resources of The Henry Ford, especially the photographic, manuscript and archival material which is rarely displayed, to allow visitors to gain a deeper understanding of American people, places, events, and things. The Research Center also contains the Ford Motor Archives.
• To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the Henry Ford Museum is currently exhibiting a vast array of artifacts and media documenting the Titanic's voyage and demise. The exhibit is being hosted from 31 March to 30 September 2012.