The petersen automotive museum March through June 2010

For Immediate Release
Contact: Chris Brown
Information and Marketing Manager
(323) 964-6320 cbrown@petersen.org




NEW EXHIBITIONS

FANTASIES IN FIBERGLASS
Open through October 3, 2010

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.


NEW EVENTS
AUTOMOTIVE AWARENESS 101 CLASS FOR TEENS

Saturday, March 6, 2009, 10:00 a.m. OR 12:30 p.m.

This class teaches teens age 14-16 the basics of what is under the hood, how a car works, and how to maintain it. This engaging and exciting class will be taught by award-winning Monrovia High School instructor Phil Jelinek, who is also a member of the Petersen Pit Crew. This class is perfect for teens with their learner's permit and their parents who want to brush up on their car knowledge. For more information, or to sign up for either workshop, please call (323) 964-6308. Class is $15 per each parent/child pair. (Parent attendance is required)


CURATOR'S TOUR: FANTASIES IN FIBERGLASS

Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 7:30 p.m.

2^nd Gordon R. Howard Gallery

Join Curator Leslie Kendall for an in-depth tour of the Museum's latest exhibit, Fantasies in Fiberglass. Both fun and informative, Mr. Kendall's tour will present the subject of fiberglass automobiles in an enlightening format. Please RSVP Clayton Drescher at (323) 964-6347 or cdrescher@petersen.org.


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 24^th, 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!


ANNUAL CARS AND STARS GALA

Heroes of Drag Racing: Honoring the 60^th Anniversary of the NHRA
Saturday, May 8, 2010

Petersen Automotive Museum

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


Fiberglass Day and Car Show at the Petersen
Saturday, June 26, 2010

9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Petersen Automotive Museum parking structure

The Petersen will be hosting a public car show for fiberglass-bodied cars of any make or model in the Museum’s parking structure. Guests of Honor include Bruce Meyers, father of the dune buggy, and Harry Hansen, creator of the Hansen Cobra. Both guests will give talks on their long careers, famous creations, and experience working with fiberglass.
From micro-cars to Corvettes, owners of fiberglass cars of any kind are invited to participate in the car show. Registration is free so sign up early to reserve your spot for this unique opportunity to meet automotive legends and view the amazing diversity of fiberglass cars at the Petersen. Cars must be driven to the Museum; there is no trailer parking. For more information or to register your car for the show, contact Clayton Drescher at 323-964-6347 or email cdrescher@petersen.org.


ONGOING EXHIBITIONS

NEW CAR SHOWROOM

Streetscape

The three makes that we feature in our 1939 New Car Showroom are: LaSalle (created 1927, discontinued 1940), Oldsmobile (created 1897, discontinued 2004), and Pontiac (created 1926, will be discontinued in 2010).


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.


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!


IMAGINING THE FUTURE:
The Southern California Automotive Design Studio,
Presented in Cooperation with Art Center College of Design
Ongoing Exhibit

Visitors will see a comparison of a 1930's studio with a modern-day studio with various examples of the creative process in 2-D and 3-D form from different points in California's rich automotive history. Design demonstrations by Art Center students will occur in the exhibit on the second and fourth Sunday of every month from approximately 10am-3pm.Check the calendar at www.petersen.org for dates.


HOT WHEELS® HALL OF FAME

The Hot Wheels Hall of Fame at the Petersen Automotive Museum, features Hot Wheels^® full-size and die-cast cars, original models, wooden patterns, injection molds and drawings of original vehicle designs.


Hollywood Star Cars

Vehicles of Hollywood lore including the Batmobile, “Black Beauty” driven by Bruce Lee in The Green Hornet television series, the “Hannibal 8” driven by Jack Lemmon in The Great Race (1965), a replica of the "Mach 5" from Speed Racer (2008), "Herbie the Love Bug", the VW bus from Little Miss Sunshine (2006), plus cars once owned by Steve McQueen, Elvis Presley, Elton John, Fred Astaire, and more!


ALTERNATIVE POWER: LESSONS FROM THE PAST, INSPIRATION FOR THE FUTURE
From the highly styled 1963 Chrysler Turbine to the General Motors EV1, automobiles equipped with innovative propulsion systems are presented to illustrate the growth of alternative vehicle technology.
ONGOING PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES
MAY FAMILY DISCOVERY CENTER
Open Tuesday-Friday, 10am-4pm, and Saturday & Sunday, 10am-5pm
The May Family Discovery Center is an interactive learning center that teaches basic scientific principles using the fundamental elements of the car.


DISCOVERY DAY

Car Activities & L.A. BookPALS
First Saturday of every month, 1-4pm
Join us on the first Saturday of each month for arts and crafts, and at 2:30pm, actors from L.A. BookPALS read stories. The program is included in Museum general admission. Call 323-964-6308 for more information. Future topics include:
March 6, 2010, License Plates
Make your own vanity plate for your bike or the wall of your room.
April 3, 2010, Blingin’ Hot Wheels
Use feathers, jewels, googly eyes, to make your Hot Wheels wild!
May 1, 2010, Pop-up Greeting Cards
Be ready for Mother’s Day with these festive cards.

SPECIAL FEATURES AT THE PETERSEN


SPECIAL EVENTS AND FILMING – Please call (323) 964-6348 or visit www.petersenevents.org to host your event or shoot film at one of LA's most exciting venues!


BIRTHDAY PARTIES - The Museum offers a wonderful venue for children’s birthday parties. Party guests can enjoy all three floors of the museum including the May Family Discovery Center. For more information or to book your party, call 323-964-6373.

SCHOOL TOURS -Taking a field trip to the Pete is an excellent way to teach your students about the history of Los Angeles and its intertwined relationship with the automobile. Students learn basic scientific principles and their applications as they explore hands-on activities in the Discovery Center. School Tours focus on history/social science, visual arts, and science & technology. Call (323) 964-6358 for information and reservations.

GROUP TOURS – A docent-led tour is available to groups of ten or more. - (323) 964-6346.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES - Come and be a part of the Petersen’s “Pit Crew”. New Docent Training Class will be held in the fall of 2008. For an application or more information call - (323) 964-6358, email volunteers@petersen.org, or visit www.petersen.org.

MUSEUM STORE – Excellent souvenirs and gifts for auto enthusiasts (323) 964-6328.