Transportation is Everywhere: The Antique Automobile Club of America Museum

Since Elijah's birth, our family has learned a lot about transportation thanks to his interest in it.  During a recent trip to Pennsylvania, this interest inspired us to discover the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Museum, a gorgeous facility devoted mainly to antique cars. 

It's not your average transportation-type museum--in fact, it is a Smithsonian affiliate.  The building is clean and classy; the set up is on theme and beautiful; you will quickly see why it moonlights as a wedding reception venue.  Areas of the museum are designed to look like, say, a drive-in movie theater, providing a wonderful backdrop that allows you to explain often-forgotten technologies to young kids.  There's a permanent display of cars ranging up to the 1980s, and there are changing vehicle exhibits, too.  When we were there, a small fire engine was on display to Elijah's delight.  An impressive collection of buses forms a bus-museum-within-a-museum and includes a bus featured in the movie Forrest Gump and a bus that featured stewardess-type service.  Other vehicles on display include a hearse used to transport alcohol during prohibition and a collection of a dozen or so early motorcycles.  Expect a nod to visual art as well; a gallery was full of vehicle photos, and there were cases of hood ornaments. 

Within the collection, you'll also find delights of Americana including an actual diner (yep, the real thing) that you can enter and a room of model train displays with a few interactive components.  These components of the museum are different than antique cars, but they sure are fun. 

If you go, know you are very, very close to the Hershey's Chocolate attractions, including Chocolate World, which easily can be paired with a museum visit in a single travel day.  Within the museum, you'll find a children's play area featuring a few train tables and various toys as well as tables near vending machines--it's a comfortable place to give kids a break.  There's a AAA museum entry discount--always ask.