Grand Opening – E.L. Wiegand Children’s Educational Activity Center

Get ready for an exciting adventure at the E.L. Wiegand Children’s Educational Activity Center! Step into our innovative space and dive into the fascinating history of cars through interactive experiences. With activities designed for all ages, learning becomes a blast! Try out the simulated car wash, get creative with build-a-race, design your own cars in the studio, and roll up your sleeves for a hands-on car building workshop. Let the fun and learning begin!

• Explore 3000 Sq. Ft. of Interactive Space
• Engage in Virtual Experiences
• Innovative Stations
• Suitable for Children of All Ages
• Mechanics and Engineering Workstation.

The National Automobile Museum is delighted to announce the unveiling of a remarkable new fixture designed to enrich the minds of our youngest visitors on June 29th. The E.L. Wiegand Children’s Educational Activity Center, enfolding an expansive area of 3,000 square feet, is an innovative sanctuary of knowledge where the history of the automobile is brought to life through a host of interactive experiences.

Spanning across five distinct sections, this exhibit is meticulously crafted to cater to various age groups, offering an array of educational and hands-on activities that seamlessly blend learning with fun. Among its chief attractions is the simulated car wash, a playful yet educational station where children can familiarize themselves with a car’s basic components as they engage in the act of cleaning.

Nurturing the seeds of creativity is our design studio, a space where young minds can select from different automobile types and channel their inner artist, with their designs proudly showcased on a grand billboard for all to admire. Additionally, an engaging build-a-race car feature demonstrates the impact of weight and size on velocity, thereby introducing the concepts of physics in an accessible manner.

The excitement peaks as children buckle up to navigate a virtual course through the streets of Reno. This interactive racing exhibit is designed to amaze, allowing the kids to maneuver a car using their arms and body alone, in the absence of a physical steering wheel.

A hands-on educational section featuring a scaled automobile invites the curious to explore the intricacies of a vehicle’s make-up, from tire removal to examining the engine. This tactile component of the exhibit ensures a deeper understanding of automotive structure and operation.

Furthermore, the exhibit also boasts a dynamic workshop where children can unleash their potential as they build with ropes, pulleys, blocks, and a variety of other materials, cultivating a practical sense of mechanics and engineering.

As the Museum looks to the future, we are actively planning for the growth of the E.L. Wiegand Children’s Educational Activity Center. A capital campaign launched this year aims at enriching the exhibit with even more elements, ensuring that it remains a beacon of knowledge and imagination for generations to come.