Women’s History Month

Join us at Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and the Ford Rouge Factory Tour during Women’s History Month to explore the boundary-breaking achievements of American women throughout history. 

In March and throughout the year, discover how women entrepreneurs, inventors, innovators, movement leaders, record setters and trailblazers, through actions both quiet and loud, have changed — and continue to change — American society. Inspired by the past, how will you make your mark on the future? 

Celebrate at the Museum

Featured Exhibit | Lillian Schwartz: A Whirlwind of Creativity

Located in our new Collections Gallery, this exhibit opens March 25 with a special member preview on March 24.

In 2021, The Henry Ford acquired the archive of multimedia artist Lillian Schwartz. Working in sculpture, drawing and painting, with a later expansion into some of the first digital art, Schwartz’s work was groundbreaking. Her fascination with the connections between art, science and technology led to a body of work exhibited and owned by the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art and numerous other institutions in the United States and abroad. 

The Lillian Schwartz exhibit is the first to be housed in the new Collections Gallery, a rotating space featuring items from The Henry Ford’s collections.  

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Featured Exhibit | With Liberty and Justice for All

Explore the proud and often painful evolution of American freedom, from the Revolutionary War through the struggle for women’s suffrage, in this groundbreaking exhibit. 

Speak up! We’re listening! Throughout the exhibit, you’ll also find signs with QR code survey links that encourage you to share your feedback on stories and history currently represented. We're gathering input on this 17-year-old exhibit as we explore potential updates so that it remains robust and relevant to audiences long into the future.

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Featured Program | Presentation: Boblo Boats and the Story of Sarah E. Ray

Saturday, March 18, 1 p.m. in the Anderson Theater
 
Many Detroiters fondly remember Boblo Island, yet few remember that the amusement park and its ferries were once segregated. Peel back the layers of nostalgia to hear the story of Sarah Elizabeth Ray, the African American woman whose 1945 court case challenged discrimination on the Boblo boat. When she won before the U.S. Supreme Court, hers became one of many test cases that paved the way for the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling by the Supreme Court in 1954 and the end to legal segregation in America. 

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Featured Activity | Guided “Innovative Women” Tour

Runs daily at 1 p.m. in March in the museum plaza.

Celebrate Women's History Month by learning about some of the innovative women highlighted in the museum. This 30-minute guided tour covers some of our most well-known women and introduces you to new innovators that have inspired and changed the world.

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Featured Activity | Story Stroll

 
Join us for our new Story Stroll program, made possible by support from the PNC Foundation. Follow the signs to read a picture book page by page in this self-guided experience. March's feature about the first woman pilot born in Afghanistan, “Fly, Girl, Fly! Shaesta Waiz Soars Around the World,” was written by Nancy Roe Pimm and illustrated by Alexandra Bye.   

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Featured Activity | Experiment with History: Unsung Heroes

 Daily in March, 10 a.m.-noon 

Who in your life deserves recognition for their bravery, sacrifice or kindness? Learn about some people from the past who may have been overlooked and honor those we know today. 

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Featured Artifact Series | Celebrating Women in Racing

Women have been involved in automobile racing from the start — on the track, in the pits and behind the scenes. From pioneering drivers like Vicki Wood and Janet Guthrie to more contemporary competitors like Sarah Fisher and Danica Patrick, women have made their marks on the sport from Detroit to Daytona and from Indianapolis to Le Mans. Learn more. 

• Featured Artifact | Chrysler 300 | Driven to Win
  Stock car racer Vicki Wood will forever be known as the “the fastest woman on the beach” for her record-setting one-way speed record of 150.375 miles set in 1960 on Daytona Beach. Wood drove at least one Chrysler 300 from Carl Kiekaefer’s NASCAR stable — we can’t be sure it was this exact car — during her speed record attempts in 1955 and 1956.


• Featured Artifact | Racing Glove Worn by Janet Guthrie | Driven to Win
  Janet Guthrie broke one of auto racing's highest glass ceilings in 1977 when she became the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500. Guthrie wore this glove in that race.


• Featured Artifact | Racing Suit Worn by Sarah Fisher | Driven to Win
  Sarah Fisher’s third-place finish at the Kentucky Speedway in 2000 made her the first woman to earn an IndyCar podium position. Fisher formed her own team, Sarah Fisher Racing, in 2008. She retired from competitive driving after the 2010 season. Fisher wore this suit in October 2009 to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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Celebrate at Ford Rouge Factory Tour

Featured Activity | Meet the Rosies

The Southeast Michigan WOW Chapter of the American Rosie the Riveter Association invites you to join them each Saturday in March at the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. Hear inspiring stories and the history of the Wonderful Outstanding Women (WOW) who helped win World War II as part of “The Arsenal of Democracy,” and learn more about the women who worked for Ford Motor Company and Ford’s contribution to the war effort.