Progressive Guide

To honor LSA’s Fall 2009 Museum Theme Semester, the Independent has chosen a few of the best museums on campus to highlight. All of the mueums on this list are cheap (admission is either free or under $10) and within walking distance of campus (you probably pass by some of them by every day on your way to class), so make sure to check them out before you graduate. You might even learn something!

1. Kelsey Archeological Museum
434 South State St.
Tue - Fri | 9am - 4pm
Sat - Sun | 1pm -4pm

The University of Michigan has over 100,000 archeological treasures in its archive, the vast majority of which have been inaccessible to both the student body and the general public. With the opening of the new William Upjohn wing of the Kelsey Archeological Museum, many of these treasures are finally viewable to the public.

The building was built in 1891, and was originally called “Newberry Hall.” After 1928, the building was used to exhibit archeological artifacts and was later renamed after founder Francis Kelsey.

The new wing houses impressive artifacts. Perhaps the most incredible are Egyptian: a child mummy and the casket of the ancient Egyptian priest Djehutymose. The museum also displays a collection of Greek vases and cups, many with elaborate pictures and designs. The second floor of the Upjohn Wing has a more Roman bent, and includes small Roman statues and a room-sized replica of a mural from a villa in from Pompeii.

2. Ann Arbor Hands On Museum
434 South State St.
Tue - Fri | 9am - 4pm
Sat - Sun | 1pm -4pm

The Ann Arbor Hands on Museum is arguably the coolest museum in an Ann Arbor.  It is enchanting from the moment you walk up the first steps, which ring out like musical keys. It may be for kids, but when I was there I wished I had brought a friend with me. My favorite exhibits were a stimulated tornado you can break apart with your hands and watch reform, a replica of a 1920s country store, and a contraption that allows you to encase yourself in a giant bubble. 
All exhibits include in-depth scientific explanations.

And if you don’t have the patience to read those, you still end up learning just by glancing at the brightly illustrated “Science Fun Facts” posted on the wall as you move from one exhibit to another. For example: did you know that your feet can produce up to a bucket of sweat a day? Admission is $9.00.

3. Exhibit Museum of Natural History
1109 Geddes Ave. 
Mon - Sat | 9pm - 5pm
Sun | Noon - 5pm

There is absolutely no excuse for any student to leave Ann Arbor without visiting the Exhibit Museum of Natural History.  In addition to its status as a historic institution, the Exhibit Museum has a remarkable quantity and quality of specimens.  Visitors often underestimate the amount of time they will spend there--each floor is overflowing with information-rich, beautifully presented exhibits on prehistoric life, Michigan wildlife, anthropology, geology, and astronomy.

The Exhibit Museum is housed in the Ruthven Museums Building, a historic edifice that was constructed in 1928.  However, it was not until 1956 that the Exhibit Museum was created as a space separate from the research departments that still occupy most of Ruthven.

The second floor exhibits the most extensive collection of prehistoric life in Michigan.  Despite the fact that many refer to it as “the dinosaur floor,’”the second floor’s true centerpiece is the display of two imposing mastodon fossils.  The mastodon, often confused with the woolly mammoth, is the Michigan state fossil--and these are stellar examples.  Other highlights on the second floor include the prehistoric whale exhibit, the Life Through the Ages alcove, and the Allosaurus in what many docents refer to as “Godzilla pose.”

The other two floors, though less well-known, also contain a wealth of specimens and exhibits.  The fourth floor houses the consistently popular planetarium; during the school year, the museum conducts movies and Star Talks on weekends.  During a Star Talk, a museum docent points out and describes current constellations and various heavenly bodies, then takes the audience on a guided tour of the universe. Stop by between classes; you won’t regret it.

4. UMMA, “Lens of Impressionism”
525 South State Street
Tues, Wed, Sat | 10am - 5pm
Thurs, Fri | 10am - 10pm, Sun | Noon - 5pm

You walk by the recently renovated UMMA everyday on your way to class, you’ve seen other students studying behind the glass panels, but have you found the time yet to explore the current exhibition on  the origins of Impressionism?
Just steps away from the Union, enter a space where you can stand inches away from works by remarkable artists such as Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, and Edgar Degas.  “The Lens of Impressionism,” the ongoing historic exhibition at the UMMA, takes a fresh angle on the dynamic interaction between pioneering photographic explorations and the rise of new painting techniques in the late nineteenth century.

The artists found their inspiration along the Normandy coastline, and the collection is full of beautifully rendered images of seascapes, beaches, and charming French resorts. The spirit of the exhibition is strikingly modern, and the energy that marked this experimental period is the thread that connects the wide variety of works showcased. Juxtaposing breathtaking prints by important figures in early photography with stunning canvases by celebrated painters of the period, the collection opens a window into the dialogue between the different visual techniques.

Make sure you take a moment to reflect before the strange stillness of James Whistler’s Sea and Rain, or pause to wonder at the startling black-and-white photographs of waves by Gustave Le Gray. You might “find yourself inspired” - and that’s just what the UMMA community invites you to be. The exhibition is running through January 3, 2010.   Admission is free, with a suggested $5 donation.

One to skip...

Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry

Unless you are profoundly interested in the recent history of teeth pulling, the dark and lonely trek through the halls of the dentistry school to find Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry is probably not worth your time
The museum is comprised solely of two single-dorm-room sized display cases and two wall-mounted shadow boxes. Each glass case is packed with vintage dental gear in chronological order from the early 1920s to the mid 1930s.
However, due to the lack of information cards, it is difficult to ascertain the actual purpose of each pink, green, or chrome machine.

The shadow boxes are filled with nostalgic games and books that promote dental hygiene in children. While these toys are certainly cute, they are not so unlike the goody-bag gifts your dentist sent you home with only 10 years ago.
Not only was this museum difficult to find, and not so much a museum as a window, it also appeared as if it probably hadn’t had an intentional visitor since these tools were invented.