Southeast Michigan includes the city of Detroit and a number of smaller cities surrounding Detroit. There are a variety of activities that can be enjoyed by youths of all ages in Detroit and the surrounding area. Adults can also enjoy many of these activities, making them ideal family destinations.
If your child is interested in sports, Detroit has a vibrant sports scene all year long. In the summer, the Detroit Tigers play at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit. Next door to Comerica Park is Ford Field, home of the NFL's Detroit Lions. The Red Wings play hockey at Joe Louis Arena, also in the downtown area. The Pistons basketball team plays at the Palace of Auburn Hills, located in Auburn Hills on the north edge of Detroit. College sports options include the University of Michigan and Michigan State, which each play a variety of sports throughout the school year.
The Henry Ford is a complex in Detroit that features The Henry Ford Museum and an outdoor historical area called Greenfield Village. The museum itself is an exciting attraction for kids, featuring vehicles and other memorabilia from throughout American history. A number of interactive displays at the museum make learning fun and are designed to keep children entertained. Greenfield Village, meanwhile, has numerous attractions celebrating the nation's history, and guests can take rides in an authentic Model T Ford car.
The Detroit Science Center is a museum with numerous exhibits, an IMAX theatre and a planetarium. The center focuses on science-related displays and hands-on demonstrations. Exhibits provide information on such topics as space travel, health, human engineering and light. The 67-foot wide IMAX screen shows educational films on such topics as space, geography and nature.
If your child is an animal lover, the Detroit Zoo is the destination to visit. The zoo has live animals from around the world, including North America's largest polar bear exhibit, African animals, Asian animals, amphibians, penguins and domestic animals. Each creature is located in a recreation of its natural habitat. The zoo also also features a 3-D theatre, a small-scale railroad through the zoo, and virtual reality demonstrations.
Many kids enjoy learning through doing, and the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum is designed for this type of child. Numerous demonstrations relating to history, science, space, geography, nature, energy and light are featured at the museum, and many have interactive elements. Nine galleries offer more than 250 different exhibits that give visitors the opportunity to test their fitness, take an imaginary trip back in time, climb a rock wall, and play a walk-on piano.
