America 250: Freedom Truck brings interactive history museum to Hillsdale

HILLSDALE, Mich. (WILX) — The Freedom Truck, a traveling interactive museum giving visitors a hands-on look at 250 years of American history, is making a stop in Hillsdale this week.

For most people like Hillsdale College freshman Taylor Brodeur, American history had always stayed in the pages of a textbook.

“That’s not something that crosses your mind often, you’re just living your life,” Brodeur said.

That changed with the Freedom Truck, a mobile, interactive museum celebrating the founding of the United States.

“You’ve got to make history interesting, dynamic, and exciting,” said Matthew Spalding, vice president of Hillsdale College Washington Operations.

Interactive exhibits bring history to life

Step inside the truck and visitors walk through 250 years of American history, experiencing what it was like to sign the Declaration of Independence or crack one of George Washington’s spy codes.

“We took the US citizenship test together. We got a 100%,” Brodeur said.

Spalding helped develop the content inside as part of the White House Freedom 250 Initiative.

“It’s important to commemorate and celebrate those and understand that those great accomplishments occurred because of something that happened a long time ago,” Spalding said.

He said he hopes the truck and the milestone celebration revive a sense of patriotism among Americans of all ages.

“The claim here is not that America’s perfect. We’re imperfect people. Lots of mistakes and messes of history. But we want to focus on the great things, the great parts, the parts that really make it worthy of love,” Spalding said.

The message rang true for Brodeur.

“Thinking back on how many people have come before us and all of the history that’s come before us, it’s actually really cool,” Brodeur said.

The Hillsdale Hometown 250 Celebration runs through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring the truck, historical reenactments, a petting zoo and more.

More information on Saturday’s events can be found on the Hillsdale Hometown 250 Celebration website.

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