About the Museum > Museum History
Museum History
Since 2008, the Transportation Museum has been a unique, one-day event for toddlers, adults, and everyone in between. Each year, visitors are treated to interactive and educational exhibits related to all kinds of transportation, from the Transcontinental Railroad and projects to solve Bay Area traffic to programming miniature robots and solving an Amtrak-themed escape room.
Museum History
As a young child, museum director Andrew Mancini loved transportation of all kinds, especially trains. In fact, at the age of five, he had memorized all of the stations on the CalTrain line and knew all of the train engine numbers.
As a way to share his love for, and knowledge of, transportation with friends, family, and neighbors, Andrew created The Transportation Museum at the age of five. The museum, like those in subsequent years, occurred on a single day during the summer at Andrew's house. Early exhibits included displays of the schedules of every Bay Area transit route, organized on the family sofa; learning about the R.M.S. Titanic by allowing guests to send their own Morse code messages; and slot car racing at the "Grapefruit 500," a track set up on the cover of the hot tub in Andrew's backyard.
In 2013, Andrew wrote hand-written, personalized letters to transit agencies in the 40 largest cities in the U.S. and each transit agency in California and Nevada. Over 75 percent of these organizations wrote back, sending in not just the schedules and maps that were requested, but also fun items — chapstick, Yo-Yo toys, and rain ponchos — branded with their logo, forming the foundation of what is today the museum collection.
About the Museum > Museum History
About the Museum > Frequently Asked Questions
Museum History
Frequently Asked Questions
We'll admit that The Transportation Museum isn't your typical museum! It's a one-day event held annually featuring interactive and educational exhibits related to all kinds of transportation, from historical displays (like the Pony Express or the Transcontinental Railroad) to those looking toward the future (solving Bay Area traffic and traveling to Mars). If it's your first time visiting the museum or you're interested in a refresher on what to expect, read answers to common guest questions.
What are the exhibits like?
Each of the museum exhibits are different, but each year's museum brings between 10 to 12 brand-new exhibits to the public. Each exhibit combines both educational components and interactive activities, so every display can be enjoyed by both kids and adults. For example, in the Float Your Boat exhibit at the museum in 2016, guests learned the science behind how boats float and discovered what buoyancy and water displacement is. Then, guests worked to build a boat out of LEGOs that could carry cargo containers while remaining afloat. In an exhibit at the museum in 2019, visitors programmed miniature robots through a San Francisco-themed obstacle course to learn, hands-on, how self-driving cars function. These two exhibits are just a couple of examples of the educational and interactive combination present at each of the museum's displays.
Since 2008, the Transportation Museum has been a unique, one-day event for toddlers, adults, and everyone in between. Each year, visitors are treated to interactive and educational exhibits related to all kinds of transportation, from the Transcontinental Railroad and projects to solve Bay Area traffic to programming miniature robots and solving an Amtrak-themed escape room.
Museum History
As a young child, museum director Andrew Mancini loved transportation of all kinds, especially trains. In fact, at the age of five, he had memorized all of the stations on the CalTrain line and knew all of the train engine numbers.
As a way to share his love for, and knowledge of, transportation with friends, family, and neighbors, Andrew created The Transportation Museum at the age of five. The museum, like those in subsequent years, occurred on a single day during the summer at Andrew's house. Early exhibits included displays of the schedules of every Bay Area transit route, organized on the family sofa; learning about the R.M.S. Titanic by allowing guests to send their own Morse code messages; and slot car racing at the "Grapefruit 500," a track set up on the cover of the hot tub in Andrew's backyard.
In 2013, Andrew wrote hand-written, personalized letters to transit agencies in the 40 largest cities in the U.S. and each transit agency in California and Nevada. Over 75 percent of these organizations wrote back, sending in not just the schedules and maps that were requested, but also fun items — chapstick, Yo-Yo toys, and rain ponchos — branded with their logo, forming the foundation of what is today the museum collection.
Exhibits > 2016 Exhibits > SF → LA
SF → LA (Transportation Museum 2016)
Learn about the past, present, and future of transportation between San Francisco and Los Angeles. How did the long drive cause the need for the creation of the first motel? What is the cheapest option when traveling? What's going on with High-Speed Rail? Scroll down to learn more.
From Missions to Motels
Today, hundreds of travelers move between the Bay Area and Los Angeles. About 300 years before today, the route we know now as Highway 101 was a Native American trail. What followed included the establishment of 21 missions, the creation of train lines, and, eventually, the founding of the first motel.
Learn about historic El Camino Real and how the long drive between the two cities required the invention of the first motel by reading the exhibit here.
Want to see historic photos of bells along El Camino Real? Click here.
Think you know hotels?
Do you travel a lot? If so, play the Matching Hotel Logos game to test your knowledge of hotel chain logos. Here's one for you to try. What hotel has this logo?
Traveling between San Francisco and Los Angeles
(per person, based on a random weekend)
Traveling Today
Skip ahead some decades, and you'll find yourself in 2017, with plenty of ways to get between San Francisco and Los Angeles. You can fly (fastest), drive (cheapest), take the bus (next cheapest), or take the train (most scenic).
Learn about the different options and view a chart that compares cost, travel time, and other notes here.
*Want to calculate your fuel cost? Click here!
What Will Come in 2020?
In 1996, 70,868,000,000 miles of California interstate freeways were driven on. Imagine how many miles are driven 21 years later! Two new methods of transportation, the California High-Speed Rail and the Hyperloop, have been in the news a lot lately. In this part of the exhibit, you'll learn more about these ideas.
California High-Speed Rail
You've heard a lot about the High-Speed Rail. Want to know more? Check out the project cost, fare cost, route, expected completion, environmental benefits, noise information, and other thoughts here.
Our local commuter train service, Caltrain, is getting some new updates. Learn more about the Caltrain Modernization program and the Caltrain/High Speed Rail blended system here. If you're interested in learning more, watch the video below or visit this website.
We want to hear your input! Would you ride the High-Speed Rail instead of flying? Do you have any concerns about the train? What are the most important amenities? Let us know!
Hyperloop
Imagine traveling between San Francisco and Los Angeles in just over 30 minutes. That's the idea behind the Hyperloop, which uses electric propulsion to accelerate a pod carrying passengers or cargo through a long tube. Click here to learn more about the system.
Electrification and the Future of Caltrain