GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Cultural curators are bringing the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum to the comfort of your home with guided virtual tours, story time from the Oval Office and so much more.
The museum decided to make their educational material accessible to everyone at Ford Library Museum after the facility closed in March due to the virus. There are seven guided gallery tours paying tribute to President Ford’s life and legacy. You can tour his replica Oval Office and Cabinet room, visit the president’s burial site; and dive into the rich history of his youth, congressional experience, and time in the White House.
“While the nation not only experiences the shutdown of businesses and schools, individuals are also missing out on opportunities to discover cultural activities,” said Elaine Didier, director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. “Through generous funding by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, we were able to quickly enhance our virtual offerings to include both cultural enrichment and educational activities based on the character and legacy of President Ford.”
In addition to these new virtual tours, you can also experience two temporary exhibit that were on display prior to the museum’s temporary closure. “The Continual Struggle: The American Freedom Movement and the Seeds of Social Change,” by Brian Washington, and “Wounded Warrior Dogs Project & K9 War Stores,” by James Mellick.
Clare Shubert, Educational Director at the museum, hopes people will use these videos and get excited to return to the museum when the world returns back to normal.
“I would say to it's something for a long time that we've wanted to do,” said Shubert. “We take the museum experience outside the museum walls and how can we provide this for people that maybe aren't able to come to Grand Rapids or able to visit the museum in person.”
