Henry Ford and Clara Ford at Henry Ford Museum for the Presentation of the Sikorsky VS-300 Helicopter, October 7, 1943

Henry Ford never intended his Edison Institute -- today's The Henry Ford -- only to be about the past. Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village would inspire the institute's students and visitors to create the future. Ford collected modern inventions alongside historic items. He acquired the VS-300 helicopter from inventor Igor Sikorsky in 1943 -- only four years after the aircraft's introduction.