The Petersen Automotive Museum is Back After a Quick Pit Stop | Irvine Moms

 

Whether luxurious or standard, vehicles give us the power to experience the world in new ways. Cars can take us places we couldn’t have imagined centuries ago. That is the goal the Petersen Automotive Museum strives to convey through its exhibits and workshops. You don’t have to be a car enthusiast to enjoy the Peterson museum and everything it offers. If you have driven a car or have been a passenger in a vehicle and understand the impact cars have on daily life, you will love the Petersen Automotive Museum. 

 

 

 

  The Petersen Automotive Museum is now open Wednday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets must be bought in advance and cost $16 for adults and $11 for kids. First responders are given a special discount on tickets for them and three others. The Vault, a separate section of the museum, is not included in a general admission ticket and is $20 extra. However, a general admission ticket grants you access to three-levels full of exhibits, including the new Supercars exhibit showcasing some of the luxurious and incredible cars ever seen, which opened after the COVID shutdown. Ninety percent of all the cars in this exhibit are fully operational, including a 2003 Lamborghini Murciélago used in the 2017 film The Fate of the Furious. Other vehicles include a Jaguar XKSS owned by Steve Mcqueen and a Maserati MC12 formerly owned by former Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher. 

 

 

Continuing along with the museum, on display is what is regarded as the first practical car made by Karl Benz’s Patent Motorwagen. Another exhibit spotlighting electric vehicles will provide a firsthand look at how electric cars are being developed and their exciting future. The first electric car made in 1915 accompanies the exhibit to give an overview of just how far electric cars have come. The first floor will be all the famous vehicles from popular movies, including The Batmobile, Lightning Mcqueen from Pixar’s Cars , and the Delorean from Back to the Future. The kids will love this floor as it is a glimpse into Hollywood’s most famous vehicles. All this is granted with a general admission ticket plus a muscle car exhibit and much more. 

 

 

Overall, you do not need to have a deep love of cars to enjoy the Petersen Automotive Museum. Just having an appreciation for design and how easier cars make our life is sufficient. The museum volunteers are very helpful, very knowledgeable, and ready to strike up a conversation. They are willing to answer any questions and provide fun facts about each car. Kids will have an opportunity to learn how vehicles are made and see how far automobiles have come. It will be a great experience and perhaps inspire a new generation of carmakers and designers. As Frederick Henry Royce, founder of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, once said, “Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Credit: Mario Lopez

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