Harley-Davidson Museum facts for kids
Harley-Davidson Museum from across the Menomonee River
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| Established | July 12, 2008 |
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| Location | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Type | Transport museum |
| Collection size | Harley-Davidson motorcycle and artifacts |
| Public transit access |  MCTS |
The Harley-Davidson Museum is a cool place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It tells the amazing story of Harley-Davidson, a famous American motorcycle company. This company started way back in 1903. People who love Harley-Davidson motorcycles are often part of a very loyal fan group!
The museum is huge, covering about 130,000 square feet. It has three buildings on 20 acres of land right by the Menomonee River. Inside, you can see more than 450 Harley-Davidson motorcycles. There are also hundreds of thousands of other items from the company's 120-year history.
Contents
History of the Museum
The Harley-Davidson Museum first opened its doors to visitors on July 12, 2008. It is located on a 20-acre site in the Menomonee Valley area of Milwaukee. This area used to be an industrial zone. Before Harley-Davidson bought the land, it was used by different companies.
To make the land ready for the museum, a special layer of soil was added. This helped to clean up the ground. New plants were also put in to bring back the natural look of the riverbank.
The plans for the museum were first shown in early 2006. These plans were created by a team of designers, including James Biber and Michael Zweck-Bonner. Another designer, Abbott Miller, worked on how the museum's main exhibits would look. The design process for the museum took about eight years.
Construction of the museum began on June 1, 2006. Instead of using a traditional golden shovel, a famous Harley-Davidson dirt track racer named Scott Parker helped start the building. He did a "burnout" with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle! The museum site has lots of parking, with space for 1,000 motorcycles and 500 cars. You can also see a giant 17-foot tall steel Harley-Davidson sign on the outside of the building.
What You Can See: Exhibits
The museum has many permanent exhibits spread across two floors. It also features special temporary exhibits that change over time. The museum complex includes a restaurant, a cafe, a gift shop, and spaces for special events.
You can see many historic Harley-Davidson items that tell the company's story. These include old photographs, posters, advertisements, clothes, and trophies. There are also videos of both old and new motorcycles. You can even sit on 10 different motorcycles to get a feel for them!
The Motorcycle Gallery
On the museum's upper level, you'll find a long line of motorcycles displayed down the middle of the main hall. This display runs the entire length of the building. Other galleries are located on either side of this impressive motorcycle procession.
The Harley-Davidson Journey
Along the east side of the upstairs galleries, there are several connected rooms. These rooms show the history of Harley-Davidson in order, from the beginning to now. You can learn how the company started in a small 10 by 15-foot wooden shed. Today, Harley-Davidson is the top motorcycle maker in the U.S., producing over 330,000 bikes each year.
A special part of this gallery is "Serial Number One." This is the oldest known Harley-Davidson motorcycle still in existence. It is protected inside a glass case. The glass case sits within a glowing outline on the floor, showing the size of the backyard shed where the company began.
The Engine Room
The museum's second floor galleries start with the Engine Room. Here, you can see a "Knucklehead" engine taken apart into many pieces. The Engine Room also has interactive touch screens. These screens show you how different Harley engines, like the "Panhead" and "Shovelhead" motors, work.
Clubs and Competition
The Clubs and Competition gallery explores Harley-Davidson's history in racing. This gallery has a section of a replica wooden board track. This track is suspended in the air at a steep 45-degree angle. You can see old videos of real board track races. There are also 1920s-era Harley-Davidson racing motorcycles attached to the track. These bikes raced at speeds of 100 miles per hour! Sadly, accidents were common, which led to these wooden tracks being banned for motorcycle racing.
Tank Gallery
Another exhibit on the museum's upper floor is the Gas Tank Gallery. This display shows 100 of Harley-Davidson's most memorable gas tank designs. These designs cover 70 years of the company's history. They were chosen by the company's design team and recreated on "Fat Bob" tanks.
Custom Culture
The Custom Culture gallery shows how Harley-Davidson has influenced American and global culture. The main attraction here is "King Kong." This is a huge 13-foot long Harley-Davidson motorcycle with two engines. It was customized by Felix Predko.
The exhibit also features exact copies of the special Harley-Davidson bikes from the 1969 American movie, "Easy Rider". These include the "Captain America" chopper ridden by Peter Fonda and the "Billy Bike" ridden by Dennis Hopper. Two of each of these choppers were made for the movie. One "Captain America" bike was destroyed during the film's production.
Corporate Archives & Collections
The Harley-Davidson Motor Company's official archives are also located at the museum. These archives provided more than 85% of the items you see on display. Since 1915, the company's founders decided to keep one motorcycle from each production line. This was done to preserve them in an archive.
One interesting motorcycle on display was found on a beach in British Columbia. It had traveled over 4,000 miles after being swept out to sea. This happened during a tsunami that hit Japan in 2011.
See also
- The Hill Climber outdoor sculpture
