Events by Month

Ages 6+

Families are invited to join us for a group tour of the museum, featuring our Origins: Life Where the River Bends, America's Motor City and Streets of Old Detroit exhibitions. After the tour, participants are welcome to stay and explore the rest of the galleries.

$6 per child, one free chaperone, $8 additional chaperones (includes admission and programming)

Pre-registration is required

JUNE 9 | JULY 14 | AUGUST 11 | SEPTEMBER 8 | OCTOBER 13 | NOVEMBER 10 | DECEMBER 8 | JANUARY 12

To celebrate the new exhibition Kresge at 100, museum admission will be free on the second Sunday of the month through January 2025, courtesy of the Kresge Foundation.

Ages 6+

Families are invited to join us for a group tour of the museum, featuring the S.S. William Clay Ford Pilot House; the restored Gothic Room from the S.S. City of Detroit III; and the newest permanent exhibit, Built by the River. After the tour, participants are welcome to stay and explore the rest of the museum at their leisure. 

Spend an evening in Detroit with a Free Night at the Museum, compliments of the Kresge Foundation!

Featuring a panel discussion on the Black retail experience in Detroit from 6-8 p.m. led by Kenneth L. Harris, PhD. 

Museum admission is FREE from 5-8 p.m.

Spend an evening in Detroit with a Free Night at the Museum, compliments of the Kresge Foundation!

Start your new year with mindfulness, movement, and meaningful connections at "Satellite," a silent disco yoga and intention-setting experience hosted by City Glow Yoga™ & The Dossin Great Lakes Museum. Join us on Saturday, January 18th, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum for a unique experience blending wellness, mindfulness & community.

Home of the Brave is about the only white woman murdered in the civil rights movement and why we hear so little about her. Told through the eyes of her children, the film follows the on-going struggle of an American family to survive the consequences of their mother's heroism and the mystery behind her killing.

Join the Detroit Historical Museum in celebrating the life of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  This year's program is Remembering the Life of Freedom Rider Viola Liuzzo, which will include a few panel discussions.  There will be storytelling and arts and crafts for guests' engagement, as well.  Explore the museum through a history hunt to learn more about the events that Dr. King experienced from 1955 through 1968. End the day of learning and celebrating and join us in singing Happy Birthday!

Member Mornings at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum are back!  This month, we’re going back in time to learn about the winter activities and popular destinations enjoyed by Detroiters in the past.  You and your guests are sure to enjoy a fun and frosty presentation by the Society’s Director of Collections and Curatorial, Jeremy Dimick. This event features a delicious brunch, trivia (with fun prizes), and time to explore the rest of the museum. Member Mornings are appropriate for all ages!

SOLD OUT! Please email education@detroithistorical.org to be added to the waitlist.

Built by industrialist and art collector Charles Lang Freer in 1892, the Freer House is a masterpiece of American shingle-style architecture and the birthplace of the Freer Gallery of Art (NMAA, Smithsonian) in Washington, D.C. It also housed the Merrill-Palmer Institute, which evolved into the renowned Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute (MPSI). 

SOLD OUT! Please email education@detroithistorical.org to be added to the waitlist.

This 22,000 square foot canal-front stucco mansion was built by Lawrence Fisher at a cost of $2.5 million in 1928. In 1975 it was jointly purchased by Alfred Brush Ford (great-grandson of Henry Ford) and Elisabeth Reuther Dickmeyer (daughter of UAW President Walter Reuther) for the Bhaktivendanta Cultural Center.

SOLD OUT! Please email education@detroithistorical.org to be added to the waitlist.

Karl Kurz, grandfather of the present owner, opened his German-style Rathskeller in 1933, inspired by those he remembered in his native Wiekersheim, Germany. Take a history-focused tour and view the Inn’s artifacts and old-world decor, followed by a meal – wurst, schnitzel, meatballs, German potato salad, kraut, tossed salad, apple strudel, and coffee (beer/other drinks not included)