Exhibits

Many exhibits are interactive and hands-on, offering the ability to not only see, but touch and hear. They involve your senses, such as in the following examples:

The Great Lakes map is pictured in the center with the play structure to the left. The play fort is located within the white bar near the top. The toddlers' play area (tan) is drawn to the center right with the gazebo (white) attached. All elements will eventually be included, with the first phase elements available in early June 2009.		KIDS' RENDEZVOUS INTERPRETIVE PLAYGROUND NEW...Coming in early June Sponsored by Mackinac Associates Children visiting Colonial Michilimackinac have even more ways to explore history. The Kids’ Rendezvous Interpretive Playground brings yet another opportunity for play, fun, and learning. The interpretive playground is a three-phase project. The first phase includes a giant ground map of the Great Lakes with perimeter bench seating, a miniature fort palisade and cannon, and multiple climbing structures that explore the route of the fur traders. Interpretive elements within the playground all relate to the route of the voyageurs, or French fur traders, who were a major part of Michilimackinac in the 17th and 18th centuries when the region was the center of the North American fur trade.
Kids' Rendezvous Play Fort		Activation of an audio system with numerous sounds, including voyageur songs, is possible from various areas of the play structure. Introductory panels and a hands-on fur-press are part of the play structure as well, encouraging conversations between adults and children. The panels on the structure also encourage a “scavenger hunt” learning activity. *Learn more*
NATIVE AMERICAN PROGRAM NEW in 2009 Partially funded by Mackinac Associates Enter a waginogan, smell fish cooking over an open fire, and immerse yourself in demonstrations of Woodland Indian material culture, foodways, and crafts. A Native American interpreter focuses on the interdependence and diversity of the peoples who converged on this Great Lakes gathering place that was once called “Pe-quod-e-nonge” or “headland” by the Odawa and Ojibway.
		ARCHAEOLOGY AT COLONIAL MICHILIMACKINAC When you step into this 18th century fort and fur trading village, you will see history revealed right before your eyes. A team of professional archaeologists are on site between June 6 – August 22 excavating remains of the village. See the dig happen inches from you and talk to the archaeologists. Ask them questions. Discuss their findings. The site is so rich with artifacts that every hour, and sometimes even more often, something is found…and you could be there to see it happen. Plus, this has been going on since 1959! *Learn more* about archaeology at Colonial Michilimackinac.
TREASURES FROM THE SAND Under the Northwest Rowhouse This permanent underground archaeological tunnel exhibit showcases hundreds of original artifacts excavated during archaeology at Colonial Michilimackinac, including colonial soldiers’ uniform buttons, coins, rosary beads, Jesuit rings, domestic tools, and more. Discover the process of archeological digs and how archaeologists use there finds to piece together the past. Some items aren’t yet identified, and we need your help to determine what they are and what they were used for. Look at the actual historic artifact and write down your ideas in our special album. *Learn more* about archaeology at Colonial Michilimackinac.
REDCOATS ON THE FRONTIER: BRITISH SOLDIERS AT MICHILIMACKINAC 1761-1781 Soldiers' Barracks Artifacts from soldiers’ life at the fort are displayed as interactive features challenge you to hear, touch, and imagine. A children’s interactive exhibit is included. Find out:
How tall was the average British soldier, and how do you rate? Stand up against the soldier with measurement lines and see. If a soldier misbehaved, where was he put for punishment? Go there yourself and imagine how he’d felt? How a soldier felt in the midst of a northern Michigan winter at the fort. Hear the wind howl and see the snow pile up at the fort in a wintry video scene while standing in a dark room, the open hearth fire crackling in front of you.
		OUTDOOR BREAD OVEN NEW in 2009 This is the first full season for the outdoor bread oven at Colonial Michilimackinac. Watch bread baked as it was in the past, and then taste it yourself! Historic maps of Fort Michilimackinac indicate ovens in outside areas of the fort, and so we know with certainty that such ovens were used here. The oven is made of clay, which was built up over a wooden frame on a base of brick. The fire then burned out the wooden frame, leaving what you now see.