Visit your favorite Jackson museums on Museum Day for FREE on Saturday, May 13, 2023 (between 10 AM and 4 PM).

Eleven Jackson County museum locations will host an “open-house style” reception and self-guided tours alongside child-friendly activities, historical demonstrations and providing guided tours during the event. With Museum Day intentionally planned on Mother’s Day weekend, it is a great opportunity for families to get together and learn more about their community’s history while checking some local museums off their bucket list. 

Each museum will also be giving away a unique Museum Day prize on site. 

Learn more about Jackson County museums here.

Download a Jackson County museum map here.

2023 Jackson County Museum Day Participants Include:

• Cambridge Junction Historic State Park and Walker Tavern

13220 M-50, Brooklyn, MI 49230 | (517) 930-3806
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Enjoy a self-guided tour of the Visitor Center and Tavern. The Friends of Walker Tavern will be selling their world-famous root beer and giving out free samples.

• Ella Sharp Museum

3225 Fourth St., Jackson, MI 49203 | (517) 787-2320
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Enjoy the Museum’s galleries, historic Farm Lane, a show in the Hurst Planetarium, as well as a Hillside Farmhouse tour. Planetarium shows and Farmhouse tours will be offered every hour on the hour. Tours run from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. with the last admittance at 3 p.m. Current exhibits include the Dinosaur Safari, Michigan Fossils and Encounters and Light, by Artist Sam Knecht.

• Grass Lake Area Historical Society & Coe House Museum

371 W. Michigan Ave., Grass Lake, MI 49240 | (517) 748-1078
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Self-guided tours of the Coe House Museum and grounds

• Conklin Reed Organ Museum & Heritage Park

121 Tefft St., Hanover, MI 49241 | (517) 563-8927
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Conklin Museum is host to 100 fully restored antique organs, which can be played and admired. Guided tours through the 1911  school building with exhibits showcasing an early 1900’s classroom, a printing press, typewriters, exhibit room with the Fashion and Finery Millenary and new sports displays, alongside a 930’s household with kitchen, living room, dining room, children’s toy room and bedroom. At Heritage Park, go “down on the farm” with Moo-Moo the Cow, gathering eggs, moving corn with a hand-operated elevator, grinding wheat into flour, and more. Visit the 1860’s log cabin, make a Mother’s Day card, or enjoy a wagon ride. Popcorn wagon and treats will be on-site, alongside flower planting with the Hanover-Horton Garden Club.

• Lost Railway Museum

142 West Michigan Ave., Grass Lake, MI 49240 | (517) 522-9500
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Self-guided tours, audio docent tours and rides on the new virtual Boland Express

• The Mann House

205 Hanover St., Concord, MI 49237 | (517) 930-3806
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Guided tours of the house.

• Tompkins Historical Stewart Museum

10138 Tompkins Rd., Rives Junction, MI 49277 | (517) 962-3398
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Museum tours, schoolhouse tours, log cabin tours, weaver demos, blacksmith demos and tractor pull. The Tompkins Plant Sale will also be taking place on site at the Stewart Farm Museum.

• Waterloo Farm Museum and Dewey School Museum

13493 Waterloo Munith Rd., Grass Lake, MI 49240 | (517) 596-2254
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Tour the 13-room 1855 farmhouse, Dewey School, and enjoy demonstrations. Browse the Spring Plant Sale, Spinner’s Flock (wool, wool items) Spring Sale, 1773 Family in Log House and planting in garden, blacksmiths, music, and concessions/free water.

• Ye Ole Carriage Shop Auto Museum

3537 Henderson Rd., Spring Arbor, MI 49283 | (517) 750-4300 
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Guided tours, coloring books activities for children, and refreshments

• Michigan's Military Heritage Museum 

311 N. Wisner St., Jackson, MI 49201 | (517) 926-6696
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During Museum Day, Michigan's Military Heritage Museum will host a book/yard sale from 10 am - 5 pm. There will be hundreds of used books, as well as collectibles, household items, tools, furniture, and more. Proceeds benefits the museum's operations fund. They will also host R.S. Jason Boshers, national commander of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. He will present on the life of Major General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne. This speaking presentation will take place at 2:00 pm.

Additional Event of Interest on Museum Day

The public is cordially invited to a combined historical marker unveiling ceremony sponsored by the Jackson County Michigan Historical Society at the Jackson Train Station, 501 E. Mich. Ave., on Sat., May 13 from 1-2 p.m. At 1 p.m., a state historical marker will be unveiled on the north grounds of the depot (in the grassy area once known as “Le Grande Square”).  This marker, titled “Michigan Central Railroad Depots,” celebrates Jackson’s role as a rail hub and as a transportation corridor in the Underground Railroad.  Directly following this outdoor ceremony, five wall-mounted markers inside the depot will be unveiled. The markers celebrate different historic milestones involving the depot property, from its grand opening in 1873 to presidential visits. These markers represent a collaboration between the Jackson County Michigan Historical Society and the L.H. Field Family Foundation, which provided grant funding for the five markers. 

Museum Day Support

Museum Day is proudly promoted by Experience Jackson and participating museums, with additional support from Jackson District Library.

Museums offering in-person activities may require face masks, social distancing and other safety protocols as necessary. Please contact each museum directly for more information on their participation in Museum Day.

Museum Day Transportation

Two of our 10 participating museums during Jackson County FREE Museum Day fall in the range of JATA (Jackson Area Transportation Authority)'s service area, allowing accessible transportation to the event for FREE. 

JATA will be providing FREE bus rides to and from two museums within the city limits of Jackson, Michigan, namely the Ella Sharp Museum, conveniently located along bus route #3 (S. West Ave.), and the Michigan Military Heritage Museum, served by bus route #2 (W. Michigan Ave). Passengers traveling to either museum simply need to inform the bus driver of their destination for the free ride. Learn more at https://mijata.org

Additional Museums in Jackson County

Although not participating in Museum Day 2023, you can find other museums across the county, each with their own unique offerings. 

Try a visit to Imagine Planet or the Michigan Whitetail Hall of Fame Museum throughout the year.