Dossin Great Lakes Museum in Detroit

We decided to check out the place on a whim. Found a wonderful display of an actual ships interior called the "Gothic Room" it was so beautiful and ashamed more wasnt saved. Also learned about the Edmond Fitzgerald tragic shipwreck. There is also interactive game to drive and dock a ship which was fun. And a section of a second ship that overlooks the river that has real ship pilot house stuff to touch. There is a small gift store. Bathrooms only for paid entrance tickets to the museum. It is worth the 5.00 entrance fee.

Friendly staff and beautiful museum. Jonathan and the young woman at the front desk were extremely helpful, professional, and polite

This place was surprisingly awesome for $5! Its worth a visit if youre on Belle Isle. The kids especially loved it!

Had a nice time here. Im very fascinated with ships and boats and the Great Lakes so I enjoyed it.

Bring some cash to be sure to donate when you go in. Its a great place. They also have a giftshop.

This museum has many hands on exhibits for children and adults that immerse you into the geography and business of navigating the Great Lakes. Take the helm of a freighter navigating the Great Lakes, look through a real periscope from a submarine, see up close preserved hand carved woodworking from the Detroiiter III, or take a look at their collection of model ships. The museum is perched on the edge of the river and includes artifacts like the anchor from the Fitzgerald and cannons from the war of 1812.

Very fun. It was a couple bucks per person to get in, there are a lot of activities to do and also a fun game where you have to captain a boat! The top of the museum is a replica bridge, where you can stand at the helm and see all the other toggles and levers that actually run the big boats (and they still flip and spin). It made our Belle Isle day!!!

I love the place outdoors where you can walk around! The view was beautiful and theres even a free telescope for you to use to see Canada!

Yes, it costs something to maintain history. It costs something to keep the building lights on. Whatever the cost, you can take something home with you...knowledge.

Wow! What a great museum. Well worth the 5.00 per person admission. Lots of ship replicas and information. We truly enjoyed our visit.

Definitely worth checking out if you are in the area, plan to spend a couple hours to see it all, $5 admission. Variety of different kinds of boats and you learn so much of the history of boats and of the area as well. Something for adults and even has a few hands on activities for children. The museum is right off the water with a Beautiful view.

Fantastic place to take all ages. Interactive and informative. Combine with aquarium and conservatory.

They now are open just on weekends and charge $5 per person. It is a small museum with some Hans on displays, a special room overlooking the water that was from a Ford ship with a display explaining this.

Its five bucks a person. I wouldnt recommend. the flagpoles, theres a telescope near them also. Theres two big cannons in the front. The outside is free.

Boring but educational and would refer it to everyone that has time on their hands

They refuse to tell the whole story about the history of how they were taught how to travel these waters and it seems to be a whitewash of everything

Really cool place to go with the family or to teach the kids some history. There is alot of cool places in the area as well so you not just limited to stopping here. This place has been here for awhile and used to be free but now costs $5 per person but still for sure worth it. Nice part of detroits history!

Dossin Great Lakes museum is a hidden gem on Belle Isle. And beautiful setting for events and weddings. Staff goes above and beyond to make sure everything is perfect for your big day! And the outdoor patio is perfect right on the Detroit River!

Beautiful spot on Belle Isle. Part of the museum is actually from an old cargo ship which is cool. Not super big but its nice. Doesnt take long which is also nice.

Of your interested in Great Lakes ships and shipbuilding, this place is a must. Help them out with a good donation to keep the doors open so they can share some great local history.

We enjoyed Dossin Great Lakes very much, nice to place to visit with the kiddies

I have to be honest.... I wasnt expecting this museum to be anything special. Boy, was I wrong! There is a lot of stuff to see and do here. They even have a simulator where you can operate and dock a freighter ship. It was a lot of fun. The best part, I thought, was the ships bridge. It looks out over the water just as a ship would. It was really cool! There is a ton of information and things to see. There is also a very beautiful room set up as you enter that was from an old ship that traveled the local waters. There is a small building to the left of the actual museum. It houses one exhibit... The Miss Pepsi race boat. Its super cool. It has a raised walkway along the boat which is easy to manuver, and gives better place to view the exhibit. This was a really nice museum. Check them out....they are doing a great job ☺️

The museum was so great!! I had no idea how much Detroit was involved in the war of 1812. There are so many miniatures and interactive exhibits inside. It kept us busy for about an hour and a half, though we could have stayed for longer. Theres a whole room filled with maps preserved from the 1800-1900s to browse over, and a few videos to watch.Really cute date idea. We hit the conservatory and aquarium nearby afterwards, which were great too!

Drove past a million times but have never stopped in.. Time for a visit & happy we did!5$ entrance fee & must wear a mask.

What a really wonderful museum. Hands on displays, informative and interactive. Very interesting and fun for all ages. Highly recommend this gem!

This museum on Belle Isle is fun and free (donations onlyto visit. Beautiful displays, fun hands on activities for the kids, and very informative.

This is a great little museum! Check online for hours, its not open every day. There is no admission fee, but there is a donation box and gift shop.The museum.features artifacts from large great lakes vessels such as travel liners and cargo ships. They have the recovered anchor from the Edmond Fitzgerald. They also have lots of exhibits on the history of Detroit and the surrounding areas. I love spending time at museums. If you do too, youll love this one. Its on Belle Isle, so you can combine it with the aquarium or sightseeing since the museum wont take more than 1.5 -2 hours max.

Learned more about Detroit history. The fact that the Museum is built using some remains from ships is fascinating

Great opportunity to learn about history of the Detroit River and the Great Lakes. Kids and adults will enjoy it!

Its a gorgeous place and would be a unique venue to rent out!

This place was so fun! Hubby and I got to drive a freighter via simulation. Got to see what it is like up in a pilot house and learn about ships. Not to mention Miss Pepsi!

My family and i loved it. We have a 3 year old and he really enjoyed it too. Great that it is free too. Highly recommend.

I had my wedding here and it was amazing. Staff was super accommodating and friendly.

This is a little bit smaller Museum, it would only take about an hour or so to go through. That said, you could spend a couple of hours here. Several very interesting displays. There is an actual ships pilot house on the second floor of the building. It wasn’t clear if there was an elevator for handicap access, but assuming there is access.There is no set price for entry. They ask a donation, and recommend five dollars per person. It’s worth it. Right on the river, facing Canada, it would be a great place to go in the summer. We went in the middle of winter so it’s not quite as scenic. There are a couple of movies that show the history of Belle Isle. They’re only about seven or eight minutes each, but worth a look.

Really nice museum on Belle Isle. Worthy of a visit if you are in Detroit. Not too big, so it can be done in an hour or two. Lots of history relating to Great Lakes Shipping. Almost always someone available to talk about ships on the lakes. The gentleman on all of our visits can tell you when a ship will be passing the museum on the Detroit River in case you want to watch. When we were there, a 1,000 foot vessel was transiting the river.

Truly an awesome experience a lot of great history gorgeous woodworking inside the building itself a must seek

First time going. Loved the history of every thing that was in the museum.Hours are Fri thru Sun 10-4

Fun nautical museum located on belle island. The museum offers free admission, hands on activities, and beautiful views of Canada and the river. Exhibits included information on Michigan’s shipping history and details on the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Dossin is one of a few great maritime museums scattered around the Great Lakes. It is small, but packed with exhibits from the Detroit area and allows you to experience a lake freighter pilot house via the old William Clay Ford.

Walking through was like a wonderland. Interactive displays beautiful scenery and of course you can play captain of a boat

Well Maintained, beautiful, informative museum about Detroit and its shipping routes. Entry is free. Has a great view over the river and look at Canadian side.

I have always loved Dossins, Ive been going there for since the early 90s. They did a job with the last renovation, plenty for the novice shipwatcher as well as for the veteran. Exhibits cover both personal and commercial maritime history in the Detroit area as well as the Great Lakes as a whole. Exhibits include the Miss Pepsi hydroplane; an anchor from the Edmund Fitzgerald lost in the Detroit river before the ship sunk in 1975; the Smoking Room from the passenger steamer City of Detroit III; and the pilothouse of the Steamer William Clay Ford. The staff there is very pleasant and knowledgeable. All together it makes a very enjoyable experience for people of all ages and walks of life!

Beautiful spot to hold such a lovely event as when I attended the Bourbon and Bowties event here. Food was delicious and the Bourbon was insane - thoroughly enjoyed the setting and had fun delving into the interactive learning displays about Michigans rich maritime history.Very cool event and location, and had great affordable gift items to purchase on site, which was pleasantly surprising and wholly welcome! The building itself is spectacular, especially the picture set into a huge wall of stained glass at the entrance - truly stunning!

Good museum on island. It gives good overview of history as well as ships. Good ships models, simulator of ship sailing, ship sailing office. Very nice informative experience

I love this little museum. It has quite a bit to look at and the view of the river is amazing also. They have great customer service and a small gift shop at the entrance for souvenirs! If you visit Belle Isle, you must stop here and its free!

i didnt know this place existed until 2 weeks ago. it was like walking onto a real boat. kids of all ages would enjoy this place. my niece and I had fun pretending we were the captain and taking pic as we exit the boat.walking on the top was like being on the water. that took me by surprise when i walked up the stirs and seen the water for the first time, it was an awesome sight.

I had never seen this museum before. I missed so much as a child! The interactive exhibits were great, the grandkids loved them. Definitely a must see!

Visually appealing educational and interactive walk through the history of water vessels and their value to the great lakes area. The museum is free but takes donations. Its a great tourist destination on the belle isle.

Loved my visit here! From Bob-Lo lore to things brought up from the bottom to watching a huge cargo ship via periscope as it navigated past the island to playing with fresnel lenses from lighthouses to learning about luxury cruising on the river to tooting a boats whistle to learning about semaphore flags, pulleys and blocks.... Every minute was great. Would love to stay all day and read everything. Attached are some of my photos.

The museum is great, it has fun things for kids to do and lots of history lessons for adults. It has a lot about the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck, and the bridge of the William Clay Ford freighter to show what the deck is like on the river. Very nice displays of model ships from long ago are very interesting too.