I’m heading to the National Association of Motor Museums’ Annual Conference on Tuesday.

I joined NAAM back when I first started Miles Through Time in 2017. Aside from the big automotive museums, I could find online, NAAM was my only other resource to figure out how to create a museum of my own.

I will admit I didn’t get much out of NAAM for years. To be fair, for the first three years, I truly was a one-man show and didn’t have to do much with NAAM.

It wasn’t until I went to my very first conference in 2020 and the National Corvette Museum, that I discovered the true value of NAAM. I met a bunch of amazing people associated with other automotive museums from all over the country.

The following year, the conference was at the Revs Institute then The Henry Ford, and last year at Savoy. Each year, I’ve been able to make new personal contacts and reunite with others who have become great friends over the years.

Attending the annual conference at NAAM is something I look forward to every year now. I find myself in a unique position when I attend the conference because I am not employed by a museum who was sent to the conference, and I’m not the guy with a car collection who decided to start a museum. And yet, somehow, I am also both, minus the car collection. 😉

It doesn’t matter if I’m talking with a museum director, the founder, or a volunteer docent, just being able to chat and mingle with peers in an industry I never imagined being a part of in the capacity I am, is amazing.

Tuesday, I’m heading to the Petersen Automobile Museum. I’m pretty sure everyone has heard of the Petersen. It’s one of the top automotive museums in the world.

This will be my second visit to the Petersen. My first visit was driving a donated e21 BMW back to Georgia and stopped by the Petersen to visit my friend Leslie Kendall. Little did I know I’d end up spending the entire day there. Half because Leslie and I chatted and half because the BMW broke down in the parking lot. 

At the end of the day, I drove away in that e21 and eventually made it back to Miles Through Time Automotive Museum. If you want to watch that trip, here’s a video. If you donate a car to Miles Through Time Automotive Museum, I may just come get it myself, and driving it back even from California isn’t off the table. 😉

As amazing as the Petersen is, it got its start on June 11th 1994, when Margie and Robert E. Petersen donated $5 million to the Los Angeles County National History Museum.

Interestingly enough, that is pretty much the same amount Miles Through Time needs to build a new building. Perhaps one day, the little museum I started with my Pop’s car will be as famous as The Petersen.

The other great thing about the NAAM conference is that we travel to other museums. The networking and lectures are great, but the ability to go on field trips makes the NAAM conference better than any other conferences I’ve been to.

I wanted to go to the Lyon Air Museum when I was driving the old BMW back to Georgia, but I didn’t have time since I had the opportunity to visit Jay Leno’s Garage, which seemed like a chance of a lifetime.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet Jay, but I saw him there patiently, allowing a very enthusiastic fan to talk his ear off. I hope one day I can meet him and show him what I’ve created.

The Lyon Air Museum has a great mix of vehicles and aircraft on display. I was an A10 and C130 crew chief for 11 years, so I also have an appreciation for things with wings and this museum has both.

Another museum I get to visit is the Marconi Automotive Museum. This was another museum I had hoped to visit on my trip back in the BMW, but at that point I was very well aware that it was possible the BMW was not going to make it another 2,000 miles.

Luckily, I get to see the museum this week. The museum was started by Dick Marconi, his wife Bo, and his son John. Marconi has some amazing exotic supercars on display. I only need one at Miles Through Time. The museum hosts a lot of events and admission is donated to the Marconi Foundation for Kids, which is a great cause.

Aside from these museums, I’m also going to get to see some private collections in the LA area, I can’t tell you about.  I will share photos and videos on my Instagram and Facebook if you want to follow along.

Have a great week!

SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT THIS WEEK’S 3 AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUMS.

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 Sean Mathis
 Creator of Automotive Museum Guide
Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum

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