Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum occupies the city’s former central fire station, an Italianate brick building completed in 1883 as Ann Arbor modernized its firefighting system from volunteer companies to professional service. After the fire department outgrew the old station and moved in 1978, the museum was founded there, opening in 1982 with 25 exhibits and expanding through added floors and adjoining buildings. It now offers more than 250 interactive exhibits on science, math, music, and technology, along with outreach programs and hospital partnerships. By joining a preserved 19th-century civic building to hands-on learning, it has become a major regional educational destination.