Port Huron Museum

Over spring break, I had the opportunity to visit the Port Huron Museum. It is found downtown Port Huron and consist of four locations. The Thomas Edison depot museum, the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, the Huron lightship, and then the actual museum in which I visited because I didn’t have time to visit the others. Physical this museum I kind of tough to go to because its off a main street kind of tucked away from the rest of downtown. And once you enter you must walk up a main flight then back down a flight to find the main desk and there weren’t any signs. Once you find the front desk you must go down another flight of stairs to start

The basement is full of local art which is for sale which is cool, but there weren’t labels for all the art and there was also a long table and chair that made it seem like there was just a lunch in and they didn’t fold the chairs yet. But other than that, it was a neat room full of local art. Then you move up to the next floor and that held civil war and world war 1 memorabilia from local people who fought or had contributed in war efforts, they also had a chair from Lincoln from when he was in Illinois which I thought was one of the coolest things. On the third and final floor was where they held all the artifacts that pertained to boats or living on the water, because as you may know Port Huron is a city found right on the water so shipping has always been a large part of Port Huron’s history. After concluding the walk though you can go back to the main desk and visit the gift shop.

The pros of this museums are it teaches a lot about local history, it could be a huge influence on the community. The cons of this museum are it is tough geologically to get to, there was only one employ when we went so there wasn’t anyone we could ask for information if we needed it. But overall om glad I was finally able to visit and I plan to go again this summer

Becky Root

I went to the Impression 5 Science Center in Lansing and really enjoyed the experience. I went with my family and even though we didn’t have a young child with us, I really enjoyed it because the museum was accessible to all peoples, not just the younger generation. Even though the accessibility was wonderful, there was a lack of people around to talk to. Even though the museum isn’t a museum in the conventional sense, there should have been people around. There was few signs explaining what we were learning, instead there were signs saying how to interact with the exhibit but no way on what we were learning. Having staff or volunteers around would have been helpful to discuss things.

But the accessibility I thought was wonderful. Since it wasn’t a conventional museum, there was no signs with complex words or word dense signs. This is helpful for people that either don’t speak English as a first language or are dyslexic. The pictures were everywhere and helpful. The chairs around the museum were numerous, so the visitors were able to sit down and take a break. Also the chairs were at an average height so adults and children could sit comfortably. Some exhibits had Spanish signs and instructions which was helpful for the Spanish speaking community. Each exhibit was very hands-on, so the visitors could have work with the objects, instead of just reading about them. There was a second floor, but there was an elevator and many of the exhibits one could either sit on the ground and interact or sit on a chair. Other exhibits involved throwing things or making things, but could be changed for people with low strength. The one downside was if a person had low motor skills, some of the exhibits weren’t accessible for them. But, overall the museum was very accessible for everyone.

Emily Butko Museum Review

Over Spring Break, I was also able to visit Chippokes Plantation State Park. This park features the Jones-Stewart Mansion and the River House which people can tour. On the Jones-Stewart Mansion tour I was surprised at the impact the exhibit had on visitors. They had the house set up exactly as it was in the 1950’s. I know personally I was able to visualize how people lived during the time period and also how the slaves lived. In the slave quarters volunteers put on programs about how the slaves cooked and lived during the time period. It really makes you feel apart of the time period and understand how the people were living.

The Mansion is very important to the local community. The Mansion was important in 1852 because the site was home to extensive fruit orchards and one of the few legal distilleries in Virginia. The next owners of the house Victor and Evelyn Stewart bought the property in the 1918 and put a lot of effort into restoration and compiling a detailed history of the plantation. And to preserve the plantation Mrs. Stewart donated it to the State park so that it can be preserved and depict day-to- day life and that is what the mansion is doing to this day for the local community and visitors.

Emily Butko Museum Review

Over Spring Break, I was able to visit the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia. During my tour I learned how important the settlement and museum is to the local community and the state of Virginia. Our tour guide discussed how in Virginia students have a better grasp of American history because they can see the settlement and visit the museum. When they learn about Virginia history they are also learning about American history. Without this museum and the replica of the settlement students might not be able to make these connections. There is so much history behind Jamestown and the surrounding area and the museum educates visitors and the local community about this history. It allows the community to trace their roots back and understand how their ancestors lived and how they ended up where they are today.

Inside the museum there were a few things that stood out to me. There were loud bird noises that were playing. This could be extremely distracting and overwhelming to individuals who may fall on the autism spectrum. When I talked to other members on my tour I talked to them about how these noises could be distracting and all of them said something along the lines of “wow I never thought of that”. The museum was also very wide open with plenty of room for a person with a wheelchair to move around, the only part that was not very wheelchair accessible would be the replica of the settlement. However, I understand it might be hard to try and make the settlement as realistic as possible and accommodate for people with physical disabilities.

My Visit to the Ziibiwing Center

Allie Nawrocki

Professor Rose

MST 315

20 February 2018

My Visit to the Ziibiwing Center

My aunt and I went last year to visit the Ziibiwing Center here in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. I admit, it was for an extra credit homework assignment for an anthropology class I was taking, but I was also really excited to see it. The first thing I noticed was that there were no docents around. Now we did decide to go on a Saturday, and we were there when it first opened, so there were not a lot of visitors around besides us. Getting around was pretty self-explanatory as well, but it would have also comforted me if there were more workers around in case there was an emergency of some sort, and I could have also found them if I wanted to know more information about a certain top or know where the drinking fountain was.

The second thing I noticed was that it was not very handicap friendly at all. The doors were wide, but the space for visitors in the museum would most likely prevent people in wheelchairs from seeing the exhibits. In term of being welcoming to individuals with other types of disabilities, though, they did an excellent job!!! They had two videos throughout the museum, and they both had subtitles. They also had people reading what the signs in front of every exhibit said.

The Ziibiwing Center has a very significant history and impact on Mount Pleasant today. It is a place where every person in the area should see because it teaches everybody about humanity, acceptance, love, and the good things that come from working together. It also screams that the Chippewa Tribe was indeed here in Mount Pleasant. Their stories and past matter, and people must realize that when it is all said and done because their history will remain known for generations to come.