Jackson County
FREE MUSEUM DAY
Visit your favorite Jackson museums on Museum Day for FREE on Saturday, May 11, 2024 (between 10 AM and 4 PM).
A handful of 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.
2024 Participating Museum Day Locations
Lost Railway Museum
142 West Michigan Ave., Grass Lake, MI | (517) 522-9500
Website
Self-guided tours, audio and live docent tours, and rides on the virtual Boland Express.
The Mann House
205 Hanover St., Concord, MI 49237 | (517) 930-3806
Website
Guided tours of the house.
Tompkins Historical Stewart Farm 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 & Dewey School Museum
13493 Waterloo Munith Rd., Grass Lake, MI 49240 | (802) 596-2254
Website
Tour the farmhouse, Dewey School, and outbuildings. Enjoy some concessions and free musical entertainment. Watch the blacksmith work in the shop. Make an arrowhead at the Flint knapping circle. Shop the Spinner’s Flock fiber market. Pick up some new greenery at the community plant sale. Purchase unique items at the gift shop.
Michigan’s Military Heritage Museum
311 N. Wisner St., Jackson, MI 49201 | (517) 926-6696
Website
During Museum Day, Michigan’s Military Heritage Museum will host a book/yards sale from 10 am – 5 pm. There will be hundreds of used books, as well as collectibles, household items, tools, furniture, and more. The proceeds benefit 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 General Benjamin Franklin Cheatham. This speaking presentation will take place at 2:00 pm. There will also be hotdogs available on site.
Ye Ole Carriage Shop Museum
3538 Henderson Rd., Spring Arbor, MI 49283 | (517) 414-1773
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Guided tours, coloring books activities for children, Jackson automobiles, Coca Cola Museum, classic cars, boxed toys, pedal cars, a retro kitchen, and more.
Cambridge Junction Historic State Park and Walker Tavern
13220 M-50, Brooklyn, MI 49230 | (517) 930-3806
Website
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
Website
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 20 mins. Tours run from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. with the last admittance at 3 p.m. Current exhibits include Space: A Journey to Our Future, Tossed & Found: Upcycled Art, The Andrews Gallery of Wildlife Art, and Jerome Washington’s Past, Present and Future exhibit. Ella Sharp Museum will host food trucks on site, face painting, and Jackson Reads, a program giving away free books to children (birth – 8th grade) who visit.
Grass Lake Area Historical Society & Coe House Museum
371 W. Michigan Ave., Grass Lake, MI 49240 | (517) 748-1078
Website
Self-guided tours of the Coe House Museum and grounds. Come visit our historical home, alumni room and vintage pictures of Grass Lake. Visit a pop shop located in our replica of the Interurban Wait Station in the backyard of the property. Grass Lake Area Historical Society will also be conducting a pop-up fabric and book sale May 10 and 11th to be held at the Coe House Museum.
Conklin Reed Organ & History Museum and Heritage Park
121 Tefft St., Hanover, MI 49241 | (517) 563-8927
Website
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, and more. Visit the 1860’s log cabin, make a Mother’s Day card, or enjoy a wagon ride. Popcorn wagon (with free popcorn) and treats will be on-site, alongside flower planting with the Hanover-Horton Garden Club, grab bags for the children, and demonstrations in the log cabin.
Additional Resources
Thank you to Jackson District Library for providing support for Jackson County FREE Museum Day.
You can also see the Jackson County, MI Museums map to see how they are spread across the county.
