My dad likes reading about people, places and events in ancient history.  The life of King Tut was a recent topic of interest and he shared with me some stories that he read about.  I did some additional research of my own and discovered there was a temporary King Tut exhibit at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History in Detroit.  I thought it would be a great extension to dad’s readings to see replicas of artifacts in person. There are also two permanent exhibits at the museum:  And Still We Rise and the Tuskegee Airmen. I was looking forward to seeing those exhibits as well.

The King Tut exhibit was fascinating. It was divided into two areas.  The first area was focused on his life and the second area was focused on his death.  I wondered how mature he must have been to be king at the young age of 19.  And the incredible wealth he had showed through in the elaborate gold overlay and intricate details of all the treasures in his tomb.  There was just so much to look at so I’ll share just a sampling of what I found most interesting. 

Next we visited the And Still We Rise exhibit. This exhibit takes you on an immersive and educational journey from ancient Africa times, to transporting slaves from Africa, slavery in America, and up to current times highlighting the rise and successes of  black Americans. The walking path is like traveling through time as you walk from one area to the next.  It is a huge exhibit and I was overwhelmed by the amount of information and the real-life quality of the exhibits.

For me, the most impressive part of the exhibit was a giant boat where they told the story of how slaves were transported from Africa.  The sounds and images gave me chills as I imagined the horrible conditions they endured and the terrible fate that awaited them at their destination. The deck below where the slaves were kept and transported was very disturbing and sad. A lot of people did not survive this horrific journey across the ocean.

There are a lot of interactive displays throughout the museum that Caitlin enjoyed.  The first one was a map of Africa that, with a push of a button, illuminated other countries within its boundaries to show the size comparison.  Second, the city street displays were expansive and strolling in and out of the mock storefronts made me feel as if I was living in that era.  And Caitlin loved the music shop where you could pick songs to listen to by pressing the buttons on the walls.  There were also many informative videos playing in different areas where you could sit and watch.

The Tuskegee Airmen exhibit is a small room with a few displays.  The one thing that caught my dad’s eye was a uniform.  He said that he had the exact same belt and water bottle when he was in the ROTC in the Philippines.

In the main entry there is a beautiful glass dome surrounded with African flags. One thing to note is if you stand in the middle of the dome and speak in a normal tone your voice is actually projected in a loud echo throughout the whole space. So be careful what you say because others are listening!

Walking in a  museum is a great indoor space to get some steps in, especially living in a cold climate state like Michigan.  For people like Caitlin with mobility challenges, getting around the museum was pretty easy. It is a multi-level building and there are short staircases, ramps, elevators and wheelchair lifts to help navigate from one level to the next.  The one downside is that there aren’t enough benches throughout the exhibits to sit.  For Caitlin, we did bring her transport chair for her to be able to rest and ride. But for my parents they are active and can walk long distances but definitely could have used more benches to take a break.  And unfortunately due to a flood, the cafeteria was not available to use during our visit.  There were many volunteers and workers around to ask questions and were very helpful.

There is a circular drive in front of the museum for an easy drop off and pick up. However, to park your car you’ll have to go all the way around the back and walk back to the entrance which is a little bit of a hike. 

At the time of our visit (April 2022) face masks were optional but the museum was still doing timed entry to control the capacity of visitors. We had to purchase our tickets in advance for a predetermined time slot. The benefit of this is that the museum was not that crowded and we could move around pretty easily.

The museum shop is well stocked with tons of souvenirs.  We couldn’t miss our chance to add to our magnet collection.

Caitlin loved the visit so much she said “how about you leave me here and pick me up tomorrow”. That is one of her silly phrases that she uses when she likes a place and doesn’t want to leave!  I liked it a lot too and told her we couldn’t stay overnight but could definitely come back one day!