Friday, October 1, 2021

17 Reasons to Visit The National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada

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My Short Video of the Museum

Fasten your seatbelts and take a ride in a DeLorean time machine back to the past at the National Automobile Museum.

At this cleverly designed museum, walk down the "streets" and hop from gallery to gallery laid out in chronological order and marvel at a collection of cars dating to the 1800s and onward to present day, watching the most impactful human creation evolve, with each collection advancing and transforming. 

The National Automobile Museum all started when Bill Harrah, a pioneer in the gaming industry known for his casinos and hotels, passed away, leaving a collection of some 1,400 vehicles behind.  

Holiday Inns jumped at the opportunity to take over Harrah's collection, and before having the chance to auction the cars off, were intercepted with a proposition from the City of Reno to use some of the cars to  start a museum, preserving the history and beauty of Bill's legacy. That vision came to life and today is known as the National Automobile Museum.  

The museum's well-designed layout, educational plaques, themed displays, flawless vehicles, and the attention to detail (complimenting music and art), make for the ideal environment for wonder, nostalgia, and appreciation to live and thrive.


17 Reasons to Visit the National Automobile Museum

1.  The museum has many well thought out displays that come to life.

2.  Experience and have fun learning the history of the automobile in the most ideal setting.

3.  Among many collections of amazing cars, find a "celebrity" section with cars known for their roles in prominent movies of the past.  Can't pass up the Back to the Future, Titanic, and Rebel Without a Cause vehicles. 

4.  There's a daily presentation on story of Bill Harrah and his journey to the museum.  Showing everyday, 11-4pm on the hour, 25 minutes in length, at their 157-seat theater.

5.  Their gift shop is amazing, with out-of-print books about cars, antique toy cars, old-fashioned souveniers, plenty of T-shirts, a penny press souvenir machine, and more.

6.  You can have fun sitting inside a Ford Model T.  Pre-pandemic, they had costumes for visitors.  If you came dressed up in a costume for a photoshoot, they would be happy. 

7.  They have a very cool space museum exhibit.

8.  You can find a very well made figurine of Yoda.

9.  The volunteers and workers are amazing, passionate, and kind.

10.  If you're a tourist from out of town, there's a visitor's pamphlet section next to the restrooms.

11.  They have special events that run throughout the year.

12.  They have volunteers that have been there for many years (the kind one that told me the history of the museum has been there for 12 years) and make your visit special by sharing their knowledge and kindness.

13. They have special traveling exhibits, like the history of motorcycles (pictured below) and Cars with Lightning McQueen and Mater.  

14. There's a photo booth that can send your pictures to your phone for free. 

15.  I don't consider myself a car person, but I absolutely LOVE it here.

16.  The National Automobile Museum always makes Halloween fun and safe every year and for a minimal fee.  You trick-or-treat from gallery to gallery and always end with some carnival games and more treats at the end.   

17.  They have free networking events where you can connect with like-minded people.

$3 Children/ $2 Adults  2021

Know Before You Go
-Free Parking
-Museum is huge with plenty of space
-Masks required as of 10/1/2021
-Their website is loaded with tons of information for visitors
-They have Science Saturdays, second Saturday of every month. Ages 8-12yrs.
-Audio Tours available
-Tourist pamphlets to attractions in Reno next to restroom

How to Support our Amazing Museum
-Attend their special events 
-Purchase from their gift shop
-Follow them on Instagram and Facebook and tag them in your pictures
-Host your special events here (weddings, banquets, seminars, special occasions) 60-1,200 guests, catering available
-Purchase with Amazon using their "Amazon Smile" link, in which they will get a small profit from your purchases. 


Purchase Tickets for Art, Autos, and Wine
(wine tastings, appetizers, live music, and art for sale)

This event is special to them as they will be showcasing art from one of the long-time artists, Bob Cinkel, who worked for the museum for a while, designing signage, interpretive text, and creating art for its walls.
Source

Feature artist for this event will be Mike Callahan, who does amazing paintings of our beautiful landscapes.



Categorized Under "Museums and Zoos"