K-12 School Groups
K–12 Education Programs at the Gilmore Car Museum are supported by the Michigan Arts and Culture Council, offering students hands-on experiences that connect automotive history with art, innovation, and culture. Through creative, curriculum-based learning, students explore design, engineering, and storytelling. With additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the program underscores the importance of investing in arts and cultural education that inspires youth and strengthens communities.
Our Exhibits Are Vehicles for Learning
The Gilmore Car Museum is more than just a collection of beautiful cars, it is an educational opportunity like no other. Each year, the Museum offers educational programs to students pre-k through 12th grade. All lessons meet Michigan K-12 benchmarks and cover everything from Science, Technology, Engineering and Math to History and Art.
Need More Help?
Education groups are $5 per student with one chaperone per six children included at no additional cost. For more information or to schedule your tour, contact Fred Colgren, Director of Education at 269-953-9021.
Mini-Programs
The ultimate school adventure can cruise through four entertaining stations (or squeeze in five if you’re feeling adventurous!).
To make the most of your group’s pit stop at our museum, we recommend choosing four or five mini-programs from the list below that rev your engines! Just send us your preferred choices before your visit, and our Education Team will shift gears to make sure your experience is unforgettable. Not sure what to choose? We can steer you in the right direction.
Buckle up and get ready for a fun-filled day of automotive exploration!
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The earliest examples of the search for the horseless carriage 1899-1908
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The car that changed the world
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The car that saved Ford Motor Company
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America’s second Motor City
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The cars of Henry Leland
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The air-cooled innovative cars
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American Luxury
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Custom built cars for individual tastes
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The automobile and the man-made ecological disaster of the 1930s
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The Cars of the “Greatest Generation”, bigger and flashier
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Meeting the tastes of the Baby Boom Generation
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The story of the Gilmore car Museum
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Early automotive service experience
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Thrills on two wheels
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STEAM in the slot car racing experience
Museum Visits for K-12 School Groups
Members of our talented team can come to your school—if you wish, to your individual classroom—and present you and your students with an introduction to the Gilmore Car Museum and complimentary lesson. Most important, bring your students to the Gilmore, and show them a moving history of an industry that shaped a state and connected a country. Visit the Shell Station that’s right out of the 1930s, the Blue Moon Diner that dates back to World War II era, and make sure they see the only set from a Disney® film that has ever been displayed outside of Walt Disney Studios.