Museum History

The Sloan Museum opened in 1966 and was named after General Motors President and CEO, Alfred P. Sloan. Originally meant to be two separate museums, the Sloan Museum of Panorama housed both automotive history as well as the Genesee Historical Society’s massive collection. As the museum began to establish itself, it also took donations from residents. Today, it houses more than 52,000 artifacts and over 300,000 pieces of archival material.

In 1993, the Flint Cultural Corporation was established to more effectively administer to the Cultural Center organizations. Today, the Cultural Center includes Sloan Museum of Discovery, Longway Planetarium, Flint Institute of Arts, Flint Repertory Theatre, The Whiting Auditorium, Applewood Estates, Flint Institute of Music, and The Gloria Coles Flint Public Library.

In 2004, Sloan Museum and Longway Planetarium was combined to form the Flint Institute of Science and History (F.I.S.H). Together, they served more than 300,000 people including 90,000 school children, public walk-ins, eventgoers, and exhibit attendees.