AACA Museum facts for kids
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The AACA Museum with the Hershey Kissmobile outside
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| Established | 26 June 2003 |
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| Location | 161 Museum Drive Hershey, PA |
| Type | Transportation museum |
| Collection size | 130 |
The AACA Museum is a cool place in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. It's a museum all about different ways people have traveled! It's a non-profit museum, which means it's run for a good cause, not to make money. Their main goal is to save and share the history of American cars. Even though it sounds similar, this museum is not officially connected to the Antique Automobile Club of America.
The museum is huge, about 71,000 square feet! Inside, you can see more than 130 cars, buses, motorcycles, and other cool items. They are set up in fun themed areas, showing vehicles from the 1890s all the way to the 1980s. It's even connected to famous groups like the Smithsonian Institution and the American Alliance of Museums. Two of its most special collections are the Cammack Tucker Collection, which has the most Tucker cars in the world, and the Museum of Bus Transportation collection. In 2014, the museum won a special award called the NAAMY Award of Excellence. This award came from the National Association of Automobile Museums.
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Awesome Collections at AACA Museum
The AACA Museum has some really unique collections. These collections help tell the story of transportation in America.
The Cammack Tucker Car Collection
The AACA Museum is home to the biggest collection of Tucker 48 cars anywhere. These special cars were collected by David Cammack. He was a historian and loved Tucker automobiles. When he passed away in 2013, his entire collection was given to the AACA Museum. This made the museum the best place to see these rare cars.
The Museum of Bus Transportation
When the AACA Museum first opened in 2003, the Museum of Bus Transportation joined them. They rented space on the lower level of the museum. Here, they could show off their collection of 22 classic buses. As of 2020, the Museum of Bus Transportation owns about 33 buses. Most of these amazing buses are on display at the AACA Museum.
AACA Museum's History and Opening
The idea for the AACA Museum started in 1993. A group called AACA Museum, Inc. was formed. Their mission was to build a museum to protect the history of all kinds of motor vehicles.
Building the Museum
In 1996, the group bought 25 acres of land in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This land was chosen as the perfect spot for the future museum building. The first plans for the building estimated it would cost about $11 million. In 2000, a special trust promised a large amount of money. They also pledged three rare 1947 Tucker Torpedo cars. Much of the other money needed was raised during the AACA's yearly car shows in Hershey.
Grand Opening and Displays
The museum officially opened its doors on June 26, 2003. About 70 cars were on display. These cars were either given to the museum or loaned by members of the club. The AACA Museum wanted to do more than just show cars in long rows. They decided to make their displays educational and fun. They added scenery and special designs to match the time period when each car was built. This helps visitors imagine what life was like when these vehicles were new. In 2013, the museum was even named one of the top 12 car museums in the USA worth visiting by MSNBC.
Images for kids
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Tucker '48
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1936 Chrysler Airflow C-9
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1969 AMX
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1974 Bricklin SV-1
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FitzJohn Bus
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Checker Cab Bus
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