Changes Planned For Rochester Hills Museum

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — Big changes for the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm could be on the way. In April, City Council approved a $75,000 contract for museum exhibit design, fabrication and installation services. Museum officials are now planning what changes need to be made.

“What we would like to do is rethink some of our spaces,” Museum Supervisor Pat McKay told the Rochester Post. “Our exhibits have pretty much remained the same.”

Funds for potential changes at the museum were donated. The museum is located in Stoney Creek Village, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, according to the city’s website. The 16-acre museum site was home to the Taylor and Van Hoosen families dating back to 1823. It features structures original to the property from 1840 to the early 20th century.

It is currently presented as a restored 1927 dairy barn. Informative exhibits highlighting the settlement, agriculture, industry and cultural evolution of the community is presented, the city website says.

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The farm’s silo could become home for a mastodon display, according to Rochester Post report. The bones, which are believed to be about between 11,000 years old, were discovered during a 2006 Adams Road project. They are currently housed at Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills, the newspaper reported.

Plans also call for a reconfiguration of the museum’s gift shop and reception desk areas. An uptick of visitors to the museum spurred the ideas for updating the museum, McKay said. A PBS film, “On Van Hoosen Farm” also helped get the word out, the Rochester Post reported.

“Suddenly, there is this new interest in the Van Hoosen Taylor families,” McKay told the newspaper.

Click here for more information about museum hours and programs.

Photo courtesy of the city of Rochester Hills