Through October 3, 2010

FANTASIES IN FIBERGLASS                                         

Gordon R. Howard Gallery

Invented in the 1930s, fiberglass was first used as heat insulation before automobile enthusiasts came to recognize its potential as a material for car bodies and other components. From Corvettes to dune buggies, many of the most iconic fiberglass customs and production cars of the past half-century will be on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum beginning in the spring of 2010.  Together, they offer an interesting contrast to both the mainstream cars that populate our motoring landscape and those made of carbon fiber, the newest wonder material to be embraced by today’s innovators.
 

Free Safety Seat Checkup Day

Saturday, April 17, 2010, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

Museum parking structure

safety belt safe USA is hosting their annual safety seat checkup day in the parking structure at the Petersen automotive museum. The event is free to the public. Museum admission is standard pricing. For a checkup appointment, please call Adrienne at (310) 222-6860. Safety belt safe USA is the national,    non-profit, member supported organization for child passenger safety.www.carseat.org.

 

Family Fun Shop:  Science and the Car

Saturday April 24th, 2010, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Join us at the Petersen Automotive Museum for a brand new and exciting hands-on workshop taught by the instructor of the West Side Science Club, Ben Dickow.  Class members will use the museum’s extensive galleries to learn the basics of physics and how scientific principles relate to the automobile.  Mr. Dickow is an engaging teacher with nearly 15 years of experience in exhibit development, experience design, and education. He has extensive experience in formal and informal education, particularly science learning, along with museums, having served in senior staff positions at the California Science Center, Los Angeles, and the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.  Class is open to child/parent pairs.  Please call Liv at 323-964-6308 for further information or to reserve your spot today!
 

SOUNDS OF SPEED          

Through April 25, 2010

ArtWall

 

From the Beach Boy's first recordings to The Fast and The Furious soundtrack, see a unique collection of 180 automotive-inspired albums accumulated by "Speedy Bill" Smith.  

 
 

ANNUAL CARS AND STAR GALA

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Petersen Automotive Museum

Save the date! Join the Petersen Automotive Museum in its annual fundraiser celebration of the automobile, with dinner cocktails, live entertainment, an auction of memorabilia and much more!

 
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

 

Misfits of Motordom

 

Through Sunday, July 4, 2010

 

Grand Salon

 

This in-depth study of the truly bizarre, the poorly developed, and the unfeasible ideas that people have seriously attempted to sell to the general public has now been extended due to popular demand! This autotorium of automobile oddities from around the globe is certainly the only assembly of vehicles where the Edsel is the "normal" car!