Our Adult Museum Education Program offers customized museum tours as well as virtual museum experiences. Expert docents will present customized content for an interactive and unique experience.
Museum Tour:
When you visit The HC, you will have a 90 minute guided tour through our main exhibits led by an experienced docent. After booking your tour, we will contact you to work together to customize the tour content to your specific interests and objectives.
In addition to a tour, you can elect for your group to listen to a 30-minute Next Generation Speaker presentation. Next Generation Speakers are children of Holocaust survivors who share their parents’ stories. Next Generation Speaker presentations are based on the availability of our Speakers, and therefore cannot be guaranteed.
If you elect to add a Next Generation Speaker, please allow 2 hours for your visit. If your visit will include a tour ONLY, please allow 1.5 hours for your visit. We ask that you arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of your tour.
Virtual Museum Experience
Unable to physically come to the museum? Our Adult Museum Education Program offers virtual learning about the Holocaust through theme-based presentations led by our expert docents. Rather than a survey of Holocaust history, our VMEs are designed to explore a particular question, theme, or event in-depth. Sessions last 45 minutes to an hour, and we can accommodate groups of all sizes.
Virtual Museum Experiences are customizable and upon confirmation, you will be contacted to discuss content for your visit. Below are some thematic options for VMEs:
How could this happen?: The escalation of hate during the Holocaust
The Holocaust was the culmination of years of hatred that spread and manifested itself into actions. Eventually, these actions became very violent on a large scale and were government-sponsored and organized. But how did we get here? In this presentation, we will use artifacts and victim/survivor perspectives to discuss the escalation of hate from biased attitudes to bias-motivated violence during the Holocaust.
Who was responsible for the Holocaust?
The Holocaust was a manmade disaster, so who was responsible? This disaster resulted from choices made by individual people who chose to be bystanders, upstanders, collaborators, and perpetrators. This program will give background information on what was happening to the Jews in Germany in the 1930s and how this escalated to the need for emigration. We will also discuss aspects of liberation and returning to life through the use of artifacts, survivor testimony, and survivor artwork.
Resistance during the Holocaust
While many people chose to perpetuate hate during the Holocaust, some people resisted the Nazi regime and its destructive ideology. Cultural and spiritual resistance, and physical armed resistance, were both important types of opposition that originated or found their expression in defiance and opposition to undermine Nazi power. Resistance of both kinds inspired hope among the persecuted Jews. This program will discuss these different avenues of resistance, especially under the dehumanizing conditions of the Holocaust, through the use of artifacts, survivor testimony, and survivor artwork.
Returning to Life After the Holocaust
The Holocaust was a catastrophic event that took place in the center of the civilized world. After this unthinkable horror, however, life did not immediately go back to normal. This presentation will address an overview of the Holocaust and the Final Solution, while also talking about what happened after liberation and the bittersweet lives that survivors went on to build. Using artifacts and testimony from survivors in our community here in Michigan, we will discuss the ongoing process of returning to life after the Holocaust.
The Holocaust and the Final Solution
The Holocaust was one of the darkest times in human history, and many wonder how this could have happened? The Nazi regime murdered over six million Jews in the Holocaust during World War II, yet this event was not inevitable, and did not have to happen. Some people miraculously survived and attempted to return to life after these horrific events. In this presentation, we will address the human story through explaining various types of camps that the Nazis sent the Jews to, why they were sent there, as well as testimony and artifacts from those who survived the camps.
Propaganda and the Holocaust
Many people chose to support the Nazi regime during the Holocaust, and propaganda played a significant role in their decision-making. Propaganda is false, or partly false, information intended to shape people’s opinions and actions that fulfill the propagandist’s intent. During the Holocaust, this intent meant the attempted annihilation of the Jews. This presentation will address the dangerous consequences of propaganda and antisemitism in the Holocaust by utilizing artifacts and survivor testimony.