Last week there was a comment made on a video shared about the museum I founded, Miles Through Time Automotive Museum. For context, I did not make the video, and it was not posted on the museum’s page, but I did see it and I did respond. 

Here is exactly what the comment was.

“Been a car guy my whole life. Raising my son and daughter to be car enthusiasts as well. I have never understood why these types of places charge admission for children under 14/15. These are literally the future of this “sport”. Don’t discourage them.”

On a surface level, this guy is not wrong. Kids are the future caretakers of our automotive past. However, if you dive a little deeper, you could argue, it is him as the paying parent not seeing the value of introducing his kids to automotive history.

The museum is accessible, he just needs to get his kids to the museum. Of course, kids have a different rate from adults and if they are really little, they are free. I actually learned the hard way to absolutely charge for kids when I was overran by unattentive adults who unleashed their group of kids in the museum. 

This was when I first started. The museum was small, I was by myself and admission for adults was only $5. It was awful and one of those things you may never acknowledge until you experience it. So yes, I charge for kids.

More importantly though, is that people like the guy who made the comment, have absolutely no idea how much it cost to even be an option to visit. The annual rent for Miles Through Time is more than I’ve ever made a year myself, and that is just the building. It doesn’t even include utilities, payroll, marketing or insurance expenses.

I’m still working on a way to get funding to move the museum to a forever home. One where there is no lease and I can ensure we never have to move the museum again. I will tell you it is a challenge to say the least, everything is very expensive and when all the revenue you have comes from donations and admission, it only adds up so much.

The reality is, I know about 5 automotive museums in the country that are free to visit. The first one that always comes to mind is the National Museum of American History, which is a Smithsonian with lots of funding. This is the museum where I got to see my first Tucker. 

McLeod Farms Antique Museum is another museum you can visit for free. However, this is a working farm with a corn maze, pumpkin patch, and picking your own flowers, all of which cost money.

A couple of honorable mentions would be the Mike Fuller Auto & Gas Museum, and the Mittelhof Gallery of Transportation, both of which are private collections without regular hours. 

The biggest anomaly in the automotive museum world is the DFW Car & Toy Museum. This is the collection and creation of Ron Sturgeon. The museum is huge with over 200 cars and 3,000+ toys and collectibles on display, and it is completely free to visit. 

However, even the free DFW Car & Toy Museum has to pay the bills. Vehicle storage and events help make it possible. It’s extremely impressive this museum is able to offer free admission, but it is definitely not the norm. Average automotive museum admission is typically between $10 and $36.

Last week I asked everyone to tell me the first automotive museum name that popped into their heads, and I have the results. I’m going to remove the museum I founded, Miles Through Time Automotive Museum and Savoy Automobile Museum, since our two museums are like cousins that live two hours away from each other.

Only 13 other automotive museums were mentioned out of the hundreds you can visit. Way out in first place is the Petersen Automotive Museum. No other museum was even close. There was a three-way tie for second place between the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum, The Revs Institute and the Gilmore Car Museum. LeMay and the AACA Museum tied for third.

There are a lot of automotive museums to explore. Even if you can’t visit them in person anytime soon or perhaps ever, it doesn’t mean you can’t still learn from them, support them, follow them on social media, or just share them with others.  

Have a great week!

Plan your next trip, discover your new favorite, or find the nearest museum

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

P.S. Make sure you follow AMG on Facebook and join the FB Group to see what’s going on at all the museums.