The LOEX 2010 program planning committee is pleased to offer a pre-conference trip to The Henry Ford: “America’s Greatest History Attraction.” Its mission is to "provide unique educational experiences based on authentic objects, stories, and lives from America's traditions of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation. (Its) purpose is to inspire people to learn from these traditions to help shape a better future."
The Henry Ford is made up of five attractions, the largest of which are Greenfield Village (“sights, sounds and settings of America’s past.”) and the Henry Ford Museum (“the ultimate place to explore what Americans past and present have imagined and invented.”) The other attractions are the Ford Rouge Factory Tour, Benson Ford Research Center, and the IMAX Theater.
We will not have time to do everything – the Village and the Museum can take at least ½ day to visit each. You should plan on visiting just one.
Hours and Tickets:
9:30am-5:00pm (the first LOEX bus will be leaving the hotel for The Henry Ford at 12:45pm)
-- Museum: $15
-- Village: $22
-- Ford Rouge Factory Tour: $15 (note – this requires a separate, free shuttle)
Prices are quoted for non-members, as admission is free to members. Membership costs $54 and up.
Admission tickets will be purchased by each individual at The Henry Ford box office after we arrive by bus.
This will be a self-guided tour and you are free to stay with a group of fellow LOEX attendees or break off on your own. Self-guided is by far the most common way people visit these attractions. On the first two buses to leave the Hyatt, there will be a LOEX 2010 Committee member to help ensure a smooth process, hand out some materials, and who are happy to “advise” the group of attendees on where to go, but they are not docents or Henry Ford experts. We looked in guided tours, but they required a monetary and time commitment ahead of time and restricted us to certain attractions (e.g., “Automobiles,” “Presidential”); the LOEX Committee thought flexibility (in terms of arrival/departure, in terms of what attractions to visit) was more important and manageable.
Transportation
A bus that can seat up to 25 people will depart from the Hyatt Regency Dearborn main entrance at 12:45 pm on Thursday, April 29, 2010. It will drop everyone off at 1:00pm at The Henry Ford main entrance, and then return to the hotel. It will then depart again for The Henry Ford at 1:15pm, doing ½ hour, continuous loops. The last bus will leave for the Hyatt at 5:00 pm. There is no charge for the bus.
Please let us know in advance if you plan to participate by sending an e-mail to attendees2010@loexconference.org, just so we can have an idea of the possible number of attendees. If you can not commit ahead of time, that is fine; you also can just show up at the Hyatt entrance - we'll be happy to have you, though you may have to wait 15-20 minutes for the bus.
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