Why on earth would you not exhibit actual machinery? It's plenty strong -- just keep it painted and greased so it doesn't rust -- and it's so much cooler. They rebuild the boilers in the trains every few years, using period tools and techniques so the "new" one is just like the old.

When they run the engines inside the museum, it's on compressed air rather than actual steam, for indoor humidity reasons. But outdoors, if it's running, it's because there's coal burning and water boiling not far away.

Everything in the Henry Ford is real, except the Wright Flyer replica and I think they've replaced a few floorboards in some of the buildings. But otherwise, you're walking on the same floors that Edison and Steinmetz walked on, while the generators they built spin at the other side of the room and light the bulbs overhead. The food in the café is from period recipes, and you can ride around the grounds in a Model T if you want to pay a little extra.

> the docents would have to drag me out

That's more-or-less what happened with me; they shut down the weaving shop an hour before the grounds close, and I easily had enough questions for three or four hours more. That's okay, I'll go back in spring!

You can spend at least a whole day in the museum and another in the village, so plan accordingly. Get here.