The general visit is a self-guided tour of the museum's permanent exhibits. Plan approximately 90 minutes for the visit.

Admission:

• $4 per student (age 6-17)
• One teacher and one paraprofessional free
• One chaperone for every 10 students free
• Additional adults are welcome to join at $8 per person. Admission fees for additional adults must be paid in the same transaction as student admission.

Booking:

• To book a self-guided visit to the museum, call Capitol Tour Services at 517-373-2353. 
• Many educators combine a visit to the museum with a tour of the Michigan State Capitol building. To make the booking process for both locations easy, we have partnered with the Capitol Tour Service, where teachers can schedule both visits at in one place. 

Typically, arrivals are scheduled every 15 minutes, in class size groupings. If several classrooms from the same school plan to visit together, arrival time may be staggered to avoid overcrowding in the museum.

Please be advised that the museum is busiest during the spring. We encourage teachers and other group leaders to plan your visit for other times of the year when your group can get the most out of the museum experience.

Teachers are allowed and encouraged to create activities for the students to complete during their visit. Please be advised that the exhibitions and artifacts on display change seasonally and may affect teacher-created materials. Teachers who wish to visit the museum to develop materials before their class visit may do so free of charge by contacting our Visitor Services team at 517-335-2581. 

We're launching homeschool-specific programming in 2026! These topical programs are hands-on and highly interactive. The program content and activities are geared toward grades K-5 and are specifically designed to be engaging and educational across a wide age range. 

The following program is planned for the fall:

• Mining Michigan - October 6 or October 7

Our fall program is all about the history of mining for copper and iron in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Join us on Tuesday, Oct. 6 or Wednesday, Oct. 7, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Enjoy hands-on history with interactive activities geared towards grades K-5. This program is specially designed to be engaging and educational across a wide age range. Both programs are now full.

Each program costs $5 per student aged three and up. One adult per family is free to attend.

Summer group programs are the perfect field trip option for summer childcare or day camp outings. Groups with students entering K-8 can book a 1-hour interactive program that includes a take-home craft. Each program is limited to a minimum of 10 and maximum of 25 students.

Choose your Michigan history topic:

• Mining
• Logging
• 1880s School Days

Admission:

• $7 per student
• One chaperone for every 10 students free
• Additional adults are welcome to join at $8 per person. Adults are limited to one adult to every four students. Admission fees for additional adults must be piad in the same transaction as student admission

Booking: 

• Programs can be booked on Tuesdays through Fridays between the weeks of June 15 and August 14
• Email lehmanh@michigan.gov to reserve a program time

The Michigan History Museum offers five different hour-long programs, taught by a volunteer docent or staff educator, each themed around an aspect of Michigan's early history:

• Anishinaabeg Trade with the French
• Mapping Michigan
• Choosing Michigan
• Mining
• Lumbering

Program descriptions 

The lessons are geared toward an upper elementary age audience, particularly 3rd and 4th grade, to align with the Michigan social studies education standards. These lessons can be reserved for a minimum of 10 students and a maximum of 30, not including teachers or chaperones.

Admission for school groups:

• $7 per student
• One teacher and paraprofessionals free
• One chaperone for every 10 students free
• Additional adults are welcome to join at $8 per person. Adults are limited to 1 adult for every 4 students. Admission fees for additional adults must be paid in the same transaction as student admission.

Admission for adult groups:

• Paid programs for adult groups are available for $9 per person

Booking:

• Reservations for our thematic programs are made by calling the Michigan History Museum directly at 517-335-2581. All programs must be scheduled at least three weeks in advance.
• For schools looking to bring several classrooms to the museum, please be advised that we can only accommodate two programs each day.
• Payment is due the date of the tour. The museum accepts cash, checks (payable to “State of Michigan") and credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and Discover only). If paying by check, please bring only the amount you owe. We are unable to process refunds on site. If an invoice is needed, please request one when booking your program, as invoices are not automatically generated.

Created in in 1999 by Margaret Holtschlag, Teacher of the Year 2000, the BIG Lesson concept is a study trip that is longer in length and able to have more meaningful and thorough learning than a typical one-day field trip. In the BIG Lesson model, teachers bring their students to community resources – such as the Michigan History Museum as well as nature centers, zoo’s, and science museums – to create an immersive learning experience for their students to study extensively all that that place has to offer over a number of days. By spending five consecutive days in one place there is time for teachers to lead project-based, problem-based, and placed-based learning for their students, as well as opportunity for integration of other subjects. View the full overview of the program here. 

Changing the concept of the traditional field trip to an all-day, all-week interdisciplinary study trip, this experience includes:

• Teacher-led and expert-led lessons using the museum space and props
• Studying the museum artifacts more deeply
• Simulations
• Behind-the-scenes tours
• Student groups working cooperatively on research

Parents are actively involved in the learning activities and assistance to teacher. The learning before and after the BIG Lesson week expands with research projects and connections to curriculum.

Foundational practices of the BHL that teachers will be trained to implement:

• Theme for the week
• Gallery Time
• Culminating Project (Summative Assessment)
• Debriefing activities (Formative Assessments)
• Student Mastery and Empowerment
• Chaperone Participation

Other program details to note: 

• Fee per class is $400
• Up to two classes can participate per week
• BHL runs in the fall and winter
• Limit of 1 chaperone per 4 students
• Participating teachers are required to attend a one-day training. A summer and fall training date are offered each year.

How to apply

• Application window is approximately May 1 - May 31.
• View the application here

Program contact

• Alana Retzer Brinker, BIG History Lesson Coordinator
  • Phone: 517-428-1059