Family Activities:

Antique Auto Museum

Attraction

Antique Auto Museum

161 Museum Drive, Hershey, PA

The Antique Automobile Club of America specializes in collecting, restoring and preserving antique cars, motorcycles, trains and any other type of automobile. The club’s museum serves as an excellent guide to the history of transportation. With over 150 vehicles in their possession, and with 85 to 100 of them being on display at any given time, there’s quite a bit for families to do and see — from Model T’s to Thunderbird Coupes and Harley 45 Flatheads to model trains, there’s a little bit of something for everyone.

But don’t expect a parking lot of classic cars to ogle at until you get bored. Rather, anticipate a varying display of permanent and temporary exhibits, each with its own theme and unique beauty. The museum’s main exhibit, called “Sea to Shining Sea,” takes visitors cross-country and through time, beginning in Battery Park, N.Y., during the early 1900’s, and ending up in 1970’s San Francisco. Each decade and location has its own decorative scene, complete with things like period-correct gas pumps and soda pop machines.

Take a walk to the lower level and check out the Museum of Bus Transportation exhibit. There, families will find roughly 12 antique, full-sized, fully loaded buses, each responsible at one point or another for moving America forward. Ever see the Hollywood film “Forrest Gump”? Well, perhaps you’ll recognize the Lakeland Bus Lines bus Gump hops on in the movie. It’s there!

There are also extensive motorcycle and model train exhibits, as well as the expansive personal collection of the museum. The personal collection includes gems like Whitney Houston’s 1986 Rolls Royce, Betty White’s ’77 Cadillac Seville and literally dozens of others.

If the kids get bored, they can hit the kids play area in the basement, where they’ll enjoy building mini car tracks and racing cars on them, hopping into automobile replica models and watching automobile movies on television. They also have a Photo Stop, where kids can dress in period-correct clothing and have their photos taken.