Michigan Fun Facts
Information About Michigan, Michigan Geography, and Michigan Schools

Michigan's state capital is Lansing. Detroit is the largest city in Michigan. Residents of Michigan are often referred to as "Michiganders", "Michiganians" or "Michiganites."

"The Wolverine State" or " Great Lake State" is the unofficial nickname of Michigan. The state song is " Michigan, My Michigan." The name Michigan is derived from the Indian words "Michi-gama" meaning large lake. Michigan's motto is "Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice (If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you)."

The state symbols for Michigan include the Robin as Michigan's state bird. A robin is a type of thrush and is closely related to blackbirds. Apple blossom is Michigan's state flower and the White Pine is the state tree.

Bordering states of Michigan are Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and Minnesota. The major bodies of water associated or near to Michigan are Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair.

Michigan is known for major industries such as car manufacturing, farming, timber and fishing.

There were 1,685,714 K12 students in the Michigan public schools in 1996. Out of those students 142,124 were first grade students. There were also 88,051 K12 public school teachers in the Michigan public schools system. There were a total of 3,853 Michigan public schools in 1996. (Source: IES National Center for Education Statistics)