Featuring exhibitions with contemporary and modern art, the Cranbrook Art Museum (cranbrookart.edu/museum/) also preserves the artwork of Cranbrook Academy of Art students and alumni. The museum offers lecture series each season at 6 p.m. in the Cranbrook Institute of Science Auditorium. Guests also can see the Saarinen House, the home of Cranbrook School's first resident architect. It contains original furnishings and a restored interior.
A natural history museum in Bloomfield Hills, the Cranbrook Institute of Science (science.cranbrook.edu/) features exhibits that explore evolution, Ice Ages and extinction. Guests can view the Flint Anthropology Gallery, which houses more than 100 Native American artifacts. A planetarium and bat zone are also prominent features of the museum. The museum opens at 10 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It closes at 10 p.m. on Friday and at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. It is open from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. As of 2011, tickets are $12.50 for adults and $9.50 for children ages 2 through 12 before 5 p.m.
Set on 40 acres of land, the E.L. Johnson Nature Center (naturecenter.bloomfield.org/) is home to a variety of fish, trees and plants. There are animal exhibits, such as a butterfly garden, for guests to see. The property is home to several wild animals including deer, coyote and mink. The center seeks volunteers for tree planting events and the removal of invasive species.
Students can play arcade games and redeem tickets for prizes, but they will also be exposed to items of historical significance in Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (marvin3m.com). Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum is located in Farmington Hills, about 14 miles southwest of Bloomfield Hills.The Sing-Sing Prison electrical chair from New York is housed at the museum, along with the "Cardiff Giant," a carved stone figure that was featured in P.T. Barnum's circus as a "petrified man."
