Do you love lighthouses AND talking about them with the public? If yes, then grab three friends and apply to the 2025 Lighthouse Keeper Program at Tawas Point Lighthouse.

For just $250 per person, keepers will live along the Lake Huron shoreline in an historic lighthouse keeper's dwelling for two weeks. Enjoy modern accommodations, including two bedrooms that can sleep four adults, a fully equipped kitchen and bathroom with a shower.

During their stay, lighthouse keepers help greet visitors, lead tours, provide information and perform basic facility maintenance, such as sweeping and removing trash. The keeper schedule is designed to allow time to enjoy recreational activities on your own while providing valuable volunteer services. The total commitment is about 60 hours per two weeks. 

Keepers apply in teams of four. Team members must be 18 years or older and able to climb the 85 steps to the top of the tower. The Lighthouse Keeper Program takes place every two weeks starting early June through late October.

For more information and how to apply, visit our website.

Michigan turns 188 this year! Michigan became a state on January 26, 1837. While people have lived in what became the state of Michigan for thousands of years, we honor the date it officially entered statehood.

Michigan’s journey to statehood was complicated. For example, if we didn’t become a state until 1837, why was our first state constitution (pictured here) adopted in 1835?

Our friends at the Archives of Michigan have a great overview of Michigan’s steps to statehood for elementary school students on their Michiganology website. (It also provides a great overview of the process for readers of all ages, in our opinion!)

The Michigan History Museum's 2025 Special Exhibit, Black Bottom Street View, is now open! 

On loan from the Black Bottom Archives, the exhibit recreates Detroit’s Black Bottom neighborhood. Made up of panoramic, free-standing murals, visitors can walk through a two-block section of the neighborhood as it was in 1949-50, made by stitching photographs from the Detroit Public Library’s Burton Historic Collection together. Exhibit labels and oral histories share the rich history of the neighborhood before the City of Detroit demolished it for redevelopment and highway projects. The exhibit has traveled around the state and will call our museum home for the next year. 

To plan your visit to see the new exhibit, head to our website for hours and visitor information.