Museum of American Speed

Found this sparkling Diamond in Harvest Hosts. Returning from a road trip from Road America to California. Stopped and toured the three story museum. All I can say is when gear heads and car fanatics die, this is what heaven will look like. The museum is well organized and staffed with friendly folks very knowledgeable about the museum.

You don’t have to be a racing car buff to enjoy this museum. But if you are, you will love this place. First, it’s huge! Three floors of anything related to cars new and old. Each floor is divided into rooms and the entire building is handicap accessible. New, old, famous, quirky, and even rare cars are displayed. The rooms are themed around certain types or cars of that time period. There are even toy cars, soapbox derby cars, and many wall graphics with pictures of the famous owner/ drivers of the car. There are plaques near each car describing the history of the car. There is an entire room filled with engines and car parts. Even the stairwell was decorated with 100’s of lunchboxes. Music fan? – Got you covered. A room with autographed guitars on the ceiling and album covers that feature cars. On the 3rd floor there is a working car merry-go-round. And who knew that hood ornaments  was a  historical art form. I didn’t think I would care for this museum but I really liked it. There was so much to see and learn about history. Even the toys were cool. I would recommend this museum.

If you like automobiles, you will enjoy this museum! Obviously, it concentrates on racing machines, but there are also Funny Cars, classic cars, and even toy cars (on the top floor). My friends and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Recommend that you allocate about 3-4 hours if you really want to see everything.

We are on a 2700 mile road trip and this museum was one of the highlights for my husband. It is huge inside and we were told they are building an 85,000 sq ft addition as they have much more in storage. I must admit that I really found it interesting as well with lots of pedal cars, model cars, racing cars, family cars, etc. There are also engines, radiators, wrenches that hubby liked but not appealing to me. They have knowledgeable volunteers around to answer questions and provide information. Lots of free parking. Only issue was we had a bit of trouble finding the entrance as there is a very large building with the name on it that you see first from the road but it is a parts place, you have to keep going through that parking lot to get to the museum.

Took the 2 hour trip with my 17 year old son to do something fun for his spring break. Absolutely unbelievable collection of cars and car related displays. Dean was our tour guide and he was really informative while keeping to tour moving so we could get through the entire museum. So much to see that we will be back soon!

We've been planning this trip for a little while. Well worth the 3 hour drive. There is so much to see. We will probably come back just to make sure we set eyes on everything. Cars. Engines. Bikes. Parts. Toys. Just so much cool stuff. And it's nice to have the warehouse right next door. Pick up my parts after I'm done. We spent almost 3 hours here, and could have easily burned another 2 or 3 hours. So much history.

This collection of automotive racing historical items is definitely worth a visit. The facility is top notch and the collection is displayed in a way that is easy to navigate and view. My family of four stopped on our way home to WI from Denver Colorado. We were pleased that the modest admission fee was structured so that it doesn't deter families with children from taking the tour. My son and I love learning about automotive history and appreciate being able to see things like this in person. The collection ranges from lunch boxes and pedal cars, to race car engines and complete race cars. With three floors on display and an expansion under way, be sure to plan on spending some time here. I would say this museum is similar in quality to the Auburn Duesenburg and Cord museum in Indiana or the Gilmore in Michigan. I only wished for a bit more written information about some of the displays. Over all a great place to check out.

We drove to see the museum from Jefferson City, Missouri and we were not disappointed. If you are into cars this is a place that you have to visit. My biggest suggestion to travelers is arrive when the museum opens or you may not have enough time to see it all.

We were in Lincoln for the Air Show and went to the museum a day earlier. What a an amazing building filled with so much history of racing! There are many volunteers walking around to answer any question you may have. We were blessed to have met volunteer Jim Holstein - WOW! The knowledge he had and so many other interesting details he gave to us was invaluable. You could almost feel the passion he had to share with us and others that were walking by. We will definitely be back to see the growing displays that are currently under construction. The museum will continually get better and better! Plan to stay at minimum 2 hours or more to see everything there.

If there is such a thing as a “hidden gem”, the Museum of American Speed in Lincoln is it! I could not believe how many race cars they had - including Indy cars, Le Mans and pretty much everything in between. They have both race and non-race cars going all the way back to the 1920’s and even a few motorcycles including an awesome Indian from the 1910’s. Hundreds of engines on display, hundreds of toy cars (which I did not expect and nevertheless amazing!), and even a guitar collection! It’s just unbelievable. Anyone that loves racing should put this museum on their list. Even if you are far from Nebraska, it is worth the visit. At one point I just had to stop taking pictures of every cool car I saw because I would end up with a few hundred pictures. Five stars is not enough. Wow!