Downstate Destination: The Gerald R. Ford Museum

Oct. 28, 2016

Born in Nebraska and raised in Grand Rapids, Mich., America’s 38th president, Gerald R. Ford, became president after Richard Nixon resigned following the Watergate Scandal. Ford is the only president in history to hail from Michigan. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, located in his childhood hometown, offers a glimpse into the private and professional life of the state’s most famous politician.

First opened to the public in September of 1981, the Ford Museum — part of the presidential libraries system of the National Archives and Records Administration — was remodeled this past spring.

“We refresh the museum periodically, and this time it was a big one,” said Kristin Mooney, the museum’s public affairs specialist. “We were able to include both the president’s and Mrs. Ford’s funerals into the exhibition to better conclude their story.” (President Ford died in 2006; the First Lady passed away in 2011; both are interred on the museum grounds.)

While the storyline of the Fords’ lives of course has stayed the same, Mooney said all of the exhibitions have been updated with more technology — many with touchscreen displays and new videos to better highlight more portions of President Ford’s life.

Exhibits at the museum include Young Jerry Ford, which looks at Ford’s youth and Grand Rapids upbringing; the Navy Room, tracing Ford’s naval career from 1942 to 1946; and a look at the ’70s, the turbulent era that Ford faced when taking the office of president. A recreation of the Oval Office — a sneak peek into Ford’s treasured inner sanctum during his presidency — is a highlight. The office boasts a replica of his desk and actual artifacts he used, such as his pen set, a bronco statue, and a ship’s wheel. Before the remodel, visitors only could step inside the doorway of the office, Mooney said, but now visitors are able to enter the office, get behind his desk, and explore the space.

“There’s also a really great replica of the Cabinet Room that’s interactive,” Mooney said. “You can actually go in, sit at the table, and experience what those decision-making processes would have been like. The whole museum is just such an amazing step into history.”

Policy wonks especially will enjoy some of the deeper dives the museum offers, such as looks at Ford’s congressional work and the Leadership in Diplomacy exhibit, which showcases his foreign policy efforts. Prefer the personal view?

There’s also a display dedicated to the Fords’ White House pets and one offering up-close looks at the ceremonial gifts President Ford received during state dinners.

In addition to the permanent Ford exhibits, the museum’s temporary exhibit space is about to unveil Space: A Journey to Our Future, which will run November 5, 2016 through May 29, 2017. “This new exhibit looks at the past, present, and future of the space program through NASA,” Mooney said, “and then continues on to today’s privatization of space travel.”

Guests will find all kinds of space travel information, plus some actual moon rocks and great hands-on activities for all ages, including a space module visitors can climb into.

The massive 12,000-square-foot exhibition is one of the largest touring space exhibits ever developed and will visit most major cities in the U.S. after its time at the Gerald R. Ford Museum.

The Gerald R. Ford Museum is located at 303 Pearl St. NW in downtown Grand Rapids, open Mon.–Sat. 9am–5pm, Sunday 12pm– 5pm. Admission prices range from $4 to $8. For more information, visit www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov or call 616-254-0400.