Driving America will offer a brand-new opportunity for kids to pretend they’re auto mechanics. And what better place for this to occur than inside the service bay of the Texaco station—a space that’s been closed to the public since this historic building was brought to Henry Ford Museum in 1987?

The Texaco Station, in its previous iteration.

Inside this newly-opened space, kids will be able to change tires and mufflers, check fluids and filters, and use a creeper to glide under a ¾-scale, 1960s-era car. Our Education team has made sure that these activities are safe, easy to understand, and age-appropriate.

Hands-on activity, geared for ages 4-8

But the curators got a different assignment:  create the atmosphere of an auto garage from the 1960s era using real artifacts. We are, after all, a history museum. We pride ourselves on authenticity. And we wanted to include real objects that adults could relate to and talk about with kids who had never heard of things like rust-proofing.

But how to go about creating that atmosphere?

We looked at old pictures of service bay interiors (there weren’t many). We shared our memories (or those of our husbands or fathers) of old auto garage interiors. We considered what was available from our own collection and what could be acquired through outside sources. (The designation “NOS” on eBay turned out to be a goldmine to the world of “new old stock” auto accessories.)

Just furnishing the space as a look-in would have been easy, but the ultimate challenge was that people would be entering this space, potentially touching and interacting with these items. So we determined that some things would be placed low and would invite touching (like the hubcaps), while rarer items, like the license plates, would be placed higher up.

It’s sometimes hard for us literal-minded curators to think about how to furnish a space that’s “just pretend”…but that’s what we tried to do here.

Do you have any memories of old full-service stations like our Texaco one, or remember hearing details of them from your parents or grandparents? Share them in the comments section below – and be sure to check out the Texaco Service Bay when “Driving America” opens this Sunday, January 29!

Donna Braden, Curator of Public Life, is always looking forward to her next unusual assignment.

This week’s update is all about computers and carpentry!

As we complete demolition of the old “spine” (the winding platform of cars located in the center of the exhibit), we have a carpenter on site to start blocking and decking for reinforcement of the new spine. This will help us add mechanical lifts, which will eventually be used to help our facilities team address lighting and other maintenance needs as well as the upkeep of artifacts.

Electricians will also be doing initial explorations and layout for new electrical needs for the updated exhibit, including dozens of interactive touch screens! Through these screens, you’ll be able to learn so much more about the artifacts in front of you than just the vehicle specifics of wheelbase and length (although this will be part of the information offered as well) – you’ll be able to find out more about their histories, why they’re significant to the American driving experience and zoom in on specific features of the cars.

In order to do this, we’re “digitizing” many of our vehicles – photographing them, then converting the photographs to digital images that will allow for greater exploration. A photography team is set up near the back of the museum and photographing cars nearly every day; if you head to the east side of the museum, you can see some of this in action – it’s a pretty neat process!

We’ll also continue repairing our historic teakwood floor, this time in areas where we’ve removed previous platforms for cars, such as the 1937 Cord convertible, and continuing demolition of the steel framework that held up the big screen in the Drive-In Theater.

What other information would you like to see included in the digitized versions of the cars for our future touch screens?

As we make more progress in our transportation exhibit upgrade, our construction team is charging ahead!

This week, work began on the Drive-In Theater and Lamy’s Diner, both of which are now closed for construction.

Lamy’s Diner will be staying right where it is on the floor, but with some really exciting new opportunities in this upgraded exhibit – specifically, you’ll be able to eat in the diner for the first time since it’s been in our collections! So many visitors over the years have told us they would like this experience, and we’re excited to be able to finally offer it. Get ready to enjoy some light snacks, coffee and other beverages at the booths or counter!

In addition, we’ll be building a “patio” alongside Lamy’s, which will not only hold more seating for dining but also provide wheelchair and stroller access to this historic diner for the first time.

The Drive-In Theater is also undergoing some changes; for one, the entrance will be flipped around! When completed, you’ll enter the theater from inside the transportation exhibit (rather than its previous entrance near the Texaco station), and the sides will be more enclosed to allow for a better viewing experience once inside.

Keep looking for weekly updates here in the blog as this exhibit progresses, and if you can, stop in to see them for yourself!

What part of the updated transportation exhibit are you looking forward to seeing?

You may have noticed that our Automobile in American Life exhibit is looking a little…different lately.

That’s because this important representation of Americans on wheels – one of the most significant exhibitions of its kind in the world – is getting a makeover!

When we first opened the Automobile in American Life exhibit in 1987, it was considered groundbreaking for its size, scale and scope – 50,000 square feet that documented the introduction of the automobile and its enormous impact on our culture and lives. But just like Americans and their cars, this story has kept moving at a rapid pace, and our exhibit is ready to zoom into the future.

During the renovation of this now 80,000-square-foot space, we’ll be adding new collection items, brand-new labels and signage, more explanatory graphics and improved layouts and displays to tell updated story lines on America’s transportation history.

Many favorites from the collection will remain, including the classic McDonald’s neon sign and the Holiday Inn room (gotta love that green shag carpet!) – and when it comes to Lamy’s Diner, you’ll finally get to do what many of you have asked for over the years: the chance to sit down and have a cup of coffee in this fabulous old-school diner.

One of the coolest parts of this updated exhibit will be the new technology applications. Twenty new interactive experiences with 42-inch touch screens will allow you to interact with digital artifacts from our collection and dig into curators’ insights and the stories the exhibit tells – in other words, you’ll be able to experience Henry Ford Museum in a whole new way!

As you can tell, we’re pretty excited – so stay tuned for more updates throughout this process! And for a great retrospective on the Automobile in American Life exhibit and the construction process, check out this great post from Midwest Guest.

What was your favorite part of the Automobile in American Life exhibit? What are you hoping to experience in the updated exhibit?

Have you heard? We’re getting a new addition to Henry Ford Museum – the Edison2 Very Light Car, winner of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE!

This uniquely-designed car won the grueling X PRIZE Mainstream Class, which required cars to seat four passengers, go at least 200 miles on a tank or charge and meet stringent performance, handling and emissions standards, all while achieving over 100 MPGe (phew!).

Media have a chance to see the car this week during the North American International Auto Show’s media preview days, but you can get an up-close look at this Edison2 vehicle soon at Henry Ford Museum! We’ll have more details to share soon.

Would you consider driving a car like the Edison2 Very Light Car? How do you think these types of cars would change the way the world drives?

Charles Addams, Virginia de Luce, and Jacques Tunick at the “5th Avenue Meet,” New York City, NY, April 24, 1960 (Photo ID Co4879, Album 27, Box 37, Series III:  Photo Albums, Henry Austin Clark, Jr., Photoprint collection, Acc. 1774, Benson Ford Research Center)

From the Department of Failed Research Requests.

In my role as reference and research archivist, I search through archival collections looking for answers to the queries that come across my desk.  Some I find the answers to, others I do not, but I never come away from my quests completely empty-handed–even if what I’ve learned isn’t exactly what I was looking for.  Here are some of the serendipitous treasures I’ve unearthed during the process.

Best known for his witty yet macabre cartoons, particularly those which gave birth to the cult favorite “The Addams Family” TV show, Charles Addams was also a motor enthusiast–a collector of vintage automobiles and a fiend for the fast “modern speedster.”

The images shown here, from the Henry Austin Clark, Jr., collection, are two of several that depict Charles Addams and other celebrities participating in an antique car meet in New York City, one that looks not altogether different from our own Old Car Festival, coming up this weekend, September 12-13.  (Henry Austin, Clark, Jr., it should be noted, was quite the car enthusiast himself, being an automotive historian and collector not only of automobiles but of  automobile literature, photographs, and the like–a collection that he donated along with his personal papers to the Benson Ford Research Center.)

Addams remained a car connoisseur to the end.  In fact, if it is not being too morbid to note (I don’t think Addams would have thought so), in 1988 he died of a heart attack in one of his cars, an Audi 4000, right after parking it in front of his home.  Fans like me still feel his loss, but to my delight and I am sure that of my librarian cousins, in lieu of a wake he directed that a party be held in his honor at the New York Public Library (which along with such institutions as the Library of Congress and the Museum of the City of New York hold some of his works in their permanent collections).

Bob Bohaty, Henry Austin Clark, Jr., Ralph Miller, and Charles Addams at the "5th Avenue Meet," New York City, NY, April 24, 1960 (Photo ID Co4883, Album 27, Box 37, Series III: Photo Albums, Henry Austin Clark, Jr., Photoprint collection, Acc. 1774, Benson Ford Research Center)

Bob Bohaty, Henry Austin Clark, Jr., Ralph Miller, and Charles Addams at the “5th Avenue Meet,” New York City, NY, April 24, 1960 (Photo ID Co4883, Album 27, Box 37, Series III:  Photo Albums, Henry Austin Clark, Jr., Photoprint collection, Acc. 1774, Benson Ford Research Center)