The Henry Ford COVID-19 Response

Hello Friends and Supporters!

Since our last report in November, The Henry Ford ended 2021 on a high note by hosting a successful program of Holiday Nights in Greenfield Village. Even with an additional 20,000 tickets made available from 2020, this signature program quickly sold out in two weeks with elements that were brought back in 2021. This year, guests were able to experience ice skating, horse-drawn wagon rides with musicians, Model T rides, dining in Eagle Tavern, Supper with Santa, and the fire works finale. This program served as a model of how The Henry Ford is building back from the pandemic, by safely increasing the capacities for our events and venues while balancing the need for staffing to give our guests the world-class customer service they expect. Like all businesses right now, The Henry Ford is facing a challenging environment for hiring and retaining staff and has responded by increasing compensation and supporting a supportive organizational culture.

So far in 2022, THF has successfully opened a new touring exhibition, Apollo: When We Went to the Moon, from the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. From astronomical engineering advancements to the hottest moments of the Cold War, the exhibition features over 100 objects and artifacts illustrating the extraordinary transformation from space competition to collaboration. Apollo will remain on exhibit through May 8. THF embraced the themes of Black Empowerment and Black Leadership throughout our onsite and online Celebrate Black History month activities. Each Monday throughout February, THF interviewed black leaders for their perspectives on empowerment and broadcast them online through Facebook live. A similar program took place with women leaders during Women’s History Month in March.

Moving forward, The Henry Ford’s talented administrative team continues to evaluate and adjust operations, staffing and the capacities of our venues, events and programs to ensure safe, effective and positive experiences for everyone. There are many exciting events and activities that are planned for this summer including the return of Invention Convention Michigan and Invention Convention U.S. Nationals being hosting on site in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation for the first time since 2019. The return of THF Summer Camps will also take place for campers entering grades 2 – 5 with a planned return for grade levels 6 – 8 by 2025.

The progress that The Henry Ford is making to build back from the pandemic is only possible due to the many supporters like you who have positively responded to our organization during this challenging time.

Thank you!

Your support has been vital to The Henry Ford as we build back from the impacts of the pandemic to offer the experiences and programs our community cherishes.

We’re coming off a challenging year, and because of your generosity and our dedicated team, we’ve been able to deliver best-in-class programs for all of our visitors in our efforts to Reactivate The Henry Ford.

Driven to Win: Racing in America crossed the finish line this year and has been an exhibit that has ignited the champion within us all. We have been able to host many of our beloved signature events, including Hallowe’en and Holiday Nights in Greenfield Village, in a reimagined way. Our teams have been working this year to bring back to life the Detroit Central Farmers Market in Greenfield Village, which will open to our guests in 2022. We were also happy to welcome back our Henry Ford Academy students; they returned to campus this fall and are completely immersed in their new school schedules. And we continue to expand our educational programming through our new virtual venue, inHub, to inspire the next generation of learners, innovators and entrepreneurs. None of this would have been possible without your support.

We remain committed to inspiring our guests and we will continue to grow stronger as we adapt to these ever-changing circumstances due to the pandemic.

Thank you for believing in all that we do at The Henry Ford.

One year ago today, we announced the closing of all public venues at The Henry Ford due to the spread of COVID-19. At the time, we stated that we would stop public operations for one week and reevaluate this decision on March 18.

No one had any idea we would be closed for almost 16 weeks and that when we did reopen on July 2, we would have to operate at reduced capacities. We simply knew we had to dig in and move through this unprecedented time in our history, and that with every decision made, we had to put the health and safety of our people — our staff, our volunteers, students and guests — first.

Americans have always been resilient. We can simply look at the stories within The Henry Ford's collection for example after example of perseverance, collaboration, taking risks and learning from failure to prove we can do anything if we are unwavering in our vision and mission.

We are grateful for the team at The Henry Ford and for the surrounding community we serve. We have received so many letters, texts and emails filled with genuine concern and encouragement for our institution's continued growth and success.

We continue to reactivate our institution and build back the business to be as strong as ever. We are still that place where future inventors and innovators can see themselves creating a better, brighter tomorrow.

Thank you for standing with us this year. Your support and generosity mean the world to us.