Travel in Michigan: Mackinaw City
October 24, 2021
Explore Michigan: Cranbrook Art Museum
Cranbrook was founded by George and Ellen Booth in 1904, in which a large plot of land was purchased. The couple created an estate full of manors, farmhouses, and roads. In 1922, six institutions were created and turned into schools for children. Cranbrook private schools are still regarded as one of the best in the state today.
George Booth purchased a collection of rare rocks and minerals, starting Cranbrook’s science museum. Since then, the Institute of Science has grown much more than just petrology, including dinosaur exhibits, replicas of extinct animals, astronomy, marine life, artifacts from the past, and much more.
The original set of rocks are still up for display in the mineral exhibit. Not only boasting hundreds of beautiful crystals and fascinating minerals, they also host events and have a guide that to help explain anything you’d like to know.
This replica fossil of a T-Rex is widely loved and known by visitors. Fossils of other prehistoric animals are also up for view, along with bones and skeletons from animals that were around from the time of the ice age.
The great Mastadon was a distant relative of the elephant that lived in the time of the ice age alongside humans! Check out the fossils up for the display, along with a huge replica of what it could have looked like when it was around!
The museum has a planetarium along with an observatory. The planetarium hosts a display of Michigan’s night sky that day Wednesday through Sunday, for any aspiring skywatchers. The observatory’s telescope is open to the public at night Friday/Saturday, along with the first Sunday of every months. (Check times on website) If you’re into astronomy, you don’t have to wait long, as the Museum’s new Space: A Journey to out Future opens September 26th.
This article was written by Jessica Bradke from the Live in Michigan Club in Troy High School
