Students at Lakeville Elementary recently got to travel back to 1840 when Michael Deren, from The Past in Person, brought his invisible time machine to the school.
Deren dressed as a canal boat captain and took the children on a journey from New England to Michigan via the Erie Canal.
The boat captain shared stories of how the canal was built and what newcomers expected Michigan to be like. The children also joined him in singing songs played on the concertina and banjo.
Deren has been traveling to schools around Michigan for The Past in Person since 1985 and also performs as a lumberjack, Civil War musician and a railroad engineer.