Field Trips to the Car Museum

By Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

We just wrapped up a busy week of field trips to the museum. Most of the students who visit us have never been inside a car museum before, and hearing their exclamations of "Wow!" when they walk in the door always brings a smile to our faces. In fact, most of these kids have never seen an antique automobile up close, and it is especially fun to show them the cars and their place in American history.

The field trips are tailored to each age group, although each covers the history of the automobile, different ways cars were powered (steam, electricity and gasoline), special clothing needed to stay dry and warm in early cars, and Alaska's zany automotive history. The story about how Bobby Sheldon built Alaska's first car is always a hit.

If time allows, students can dress up for a photo in the 1911 Everett and/or do a scavenger hunt in the museum. Anyone visiting the museum with children can ask for one of our scavenger hunt forms, and there is a little prize awarded for completed forms.

Many thanks to Nancy Allen for designing our field trips and leading so many of them for us. A retired school teacher, Nancy has a gift for keeping the kids' attention and herding rambunctious groups through the galleries.

Field trips are available only during the school year. For more information, click here.