Why the Edison Birthplace in Milan remains a field trip favorite for area schools
The small brick house where Thomas Edison was born in 1847 is 20 miles from Bellevue. Teachers use it to teach invention and local history.
Generations of northern Ohio schoolchildren have made the same trip: a bus ride to Milan, a walk through a small brick house on a hill, and a lesson on the boy who grew up to invent the phonograph and a practical light bulb.
The house
Thomas Alva Edison was born in the house on Feb. 11, 1847, the youngest of seven children. His family moved to Port Huron, Michigan, when he was 7. Edison bought the house later in life, and after his death his family opened it as a museum in 1947, the centennial of his birth. It is run by the nonprofit Edison Birthplace Association. Our profile of Edison and Milan has more history.
What students see
Guided tours show the rooms where the Edison family lived, along with displays of early phonographs, light bulbs and other inventions and family items. Guides explain how Edison, who had little formal schooling, learned by reading and experimenting. Teachers say the visit connects science lessons to a real person from the area.
Fitting the curriculum
Ohio’s learning standards include state history and the role of inventors and industry, often in fourth grade. A visit to Milan pairs well with lessons on electricity and on how the canal and railroads shaped northern Ohio, a story told in Around old Bellevue.
Planning a visit
The museum is open seasonally, and group tours are booked in advance through the Edison Birthplace Museum. Milan’s village square and the Milan Historical Museum are a short walk away, so many classes visit both.
For older students interested in science and engineering, see our story on NASA’s test facility near Sandusky. More in Schools & Sports.