Dan Truckey, director and curator of the Beaumier Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University, talks about the 1820 expedition of Lewis Cass. (Journal photo by Abby LaForest)

NEGAUNEE — The Michigan Iron Industry Museum in Negaunee is hosting free informational programs during the summer detailing various aspects of Michigan’s history.

2024 Tuesday Afternoon Programs are designed to invite local experts and researchers in to share their knowledge with the general public, giving presentations on a wide range of topics all connected to the story of Michigan’s heritage.

Dan Truckey, director and curator of the Beaumier Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University, was one of the local experts who gave a recent presentation on the 1820 expedition of Lewis Cass, a journey intended to survey the resources and peoples of the Upper Peninsula.

Truckey has been giving presentations at the museum for many years and plans to continue to do so.

“I think it’s because at the Beaumier Heritage Center, it’s part of our mission to preserve the history and culture of the region … We (the center) do exhibitions, but getting out and presenting about them … to me it’s a way of spreading that message even further, because not everyone’s going to come and see the exhibit. So if I can go out and do a presentation about it, I can educate more people about our mission and what we do, and also about the history of the region.”

In addition to promoting and sharing individual or organizational research, the museum’s Tuesday Afternoon Programs also provide the chance to engage in free, accessible education.

“I think it’s really important that we have (education) accessible to people in any way (that) we can, whether it be in person or online,” Truckey said. “I think we learned that during COVID-19, one of the positive things that came out of it … was that we all learned how we could connect with people in new ways. I think it’s really important that we find ways to continue to do that, because as opposed to in a place like the U.P., there are a lot of isolated populations of people, and we found that they had a real desire for information and still do. It’s really important that we get out there and get it, bring it to them rather than expect them to come to us all the time, which just isn’t always possible.”

Each program starts at 2 p.m. on its scheduled Tuesday. The museum is located at 73 Forge Road in Negaunee.

For the program schedule and more information, the Michigan Iron Industry Museum can be reached by calling 906-475-7857 or visiting michigan.gov/mhc/museums/miim.