Head north along Woodward Avenue from downtown, and you’ll run right into the Cultural Center, part of Midtown Detroit (www.detroitmidtown.com). Bordered by bustling Wayne State University to the west and the Detroit Medical Center to the east, this is where you’ll find most of the city’s art and civic museums.

In addition to the Detroit Historical Museum and the Detroit Institute of Arts, another highlight of the city’s Cultural Center is the Detroit Science Center (5020 John R St., 313/577-8400, www.detroitsciencecenter.org, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Mon.–Fri., 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Sat.–Sun., $13 adults, $12 children 2–12), which reopened to the public in July of 2001. The recently renovated center includes a digital planetarium, two science stages, the state’s only IMAX dome theater, and areas devoted to motion, life sciences, matter, energy, waves, and vibration.

Other intriguing attractions in this area include the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (315 E. Warren Ave., 313/494-5800, www.maah-detroit.org, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Tues.–Sat., 1–5 p.m. Sun., $8 adults, $5 seniors 62 and over, $5 children 3–12) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) (4454 Woodward Ave., 313/832-6622, www.mocadetroit.org, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Wed. and Sat.–Sun., 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Thurs.–Fri., free), the Cultural Center’s newest addition.