Museums & Galleries in Farmington Hills

After building up one of the state’s most successful furniture companies, woodworker Erie Sauder paid tribute to northwest Ohio’s pioneers with an open-air museum dedicated to re-creating the idyllic charm of a 19th-century rural village. To make his dream an even more vivid reality, Sauder moved dozens of historical structures to the village, restoring them and filling them with traditional pottery and tinsmithing shops, general stores, and schools. Costumed actors guide visitors of all ages through the traditional chores and activities of the 1800s, such as singing hymns, shearing sheep, or rebooting the hard drive on the printing press. Exhibits place guests directly into the lives and experiences of the Great Black Swamp’s settlers, from the earliest native peoples to the hardworking farmers and master craftsfolk of the late 1800s.

As patrons send themselves back in time with the village’s sights and sounds, they treat their taste buds to handmade sweet rolls from the Doughbox bakery, or dine on feasts of roast beef and chicken amid the hand-hewn rafters of the Barn Restaurant. Overnight guests lodge at the spacious campground or the beautiful Heritage Inn, replete with exercise rooms, a gorgeous 25-foot tree, and WiFi access powered by a horse on a treadmill.

Through public science forums and more than 200 interactive exhibits, Canada South Science City hopes to foster an excitement for science that helps families understand their relationship to the universe and inspire children to work towards Science-based careers. The 30,000-square-foot facility houses attractions such as Dinosaur Alley, where a model T-Rex skeleton looms as kids dig for prehistoric bones and fossilized cassette tapes. Live snakes, turtles, and tree frogs send a symphony of hisses and warbles from the Big Lagoon, an exhibit that offers up fun facts about biodiversity. Elsewhere, models of Jupiter and Saturn overhang an open-gym area that demonstrates the properties of sound and space.

Canada South Science City also hosts special events including science panel discussions and educational programs for students. These include workshops that challenge kids to solve problems, such as keeping a dropped egg from breaking or a black hole from opening in their lunchbox.

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), one of the premier art museums in the United States, is home to more than 60,000 works that comprise a multicultural survey of human creativity from ancient times through the 21st century.

Tampa's Cinco de Mayo Fiesta is a cultural cornucopia celebrating the Mexican holiday with music, dancing, food, activities, children's attractions, and a car and motorcycle show. Follow the incipient online schedule—or flip through the Facebook page—for the still-developing calendar, which includes events such as salsa-dancing lessons, a tongue-tickling chili contest, and the glamorous Miss Tampa Latina pageant. During the daily happy hour 3 p.m.–6 p.m., thirsty guests can enjoy one free beer. Take in a salsa lesson, then meander over to the other salsa camp, where recently steadied shoulders will be tested against fiery tortilla-toppers at the salsa tasting station. While proud car owners buff their road babies for Friday's car and motorcycle show, their flesh-based brood can clamber (supervised) through the children's area and carnival rides.