Guided Tours & Workshops

Encourage critical thinking skills with a thematic tour led by a trained museum educator. Tours are conducted in small groups and range from 30-120 minutes depending on student ages.

STYLISH SPEED TOUR

Analyze the evolving design of a vehicle's exterior body and what makes a car aerodynamic, fast and safe. 

Recommended Grades: K–5 

NGSS Alignment: K–2-ETS1 Engineering Design; 3–5-ETS1 Engineering Design

POWERING THE FUTURE TOUR

Discover how automotive technology has advanced over time, and hypothesize the best way to power vehicles for a sustainable automotive future.

Recommended Grades: 3–8

NGSS Alignment: 4-PS3 Energy; MS-PS3 Energy; MS-ETS1 Engineering Design

A NATION ON WHEELS TOUR

Learn how cars shaped American culture through the decades.

Recommended Grades: 6–12

Standards Alignment: NGSS Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect; Systems and System Models; Social Studies and History Connections 

PRESCHOOL TOUR

Encourage curiosity and imagination with a condensed guided tour, playtime in the Family Zone, and storytime with a related hands-on activity. Preschool programs are geared to ages 3-5 and allow one free chaperone for every 5 students.

CUSTOMIZED TOUR

Work with us to create a program that meets your classroom’s learning objectives and students’ interests. Contact our education department for more details.

Hands-on workshops are available for an additional $3 per student

Foster creative engineering with a hands-on project to take home. Workshops can accommodate one class per hour. Choose between the following options:



SIMPLE MACHINES | GRADES K - 2 

Students explore levers, wheels, and inclined planes through playful experimentation and discovery. 

NGSS Alignment: K-PS2; 2-PS1; 2-PS3

CUSTOM CARS | GRADES K - 5 

Design, build, and refine a custom vehicle while learning about form, function, and iterative design.

NGSS Alignment: K-2-ETS1; 3–5-ETS1

PINEWOOD DERBY CARS | GRADES 3 - 5

Construct and test gravity-powered cars, refining balance, friction, and speed through testing and developing an understanding of aerodynamics. 

NGSS Alignment: 3–5-ETS1

CRASH-TEST CARS | GRADES 3 - 8 

Engineer vehicles to protect passengers by testing forces, motion, and collisions. 

NGSS Alignment: 3–5-ETS1; MS-PS2; MS-ETS1

RENEWABLE ENERGY CARS | GRADES 4 - 8 

Build and test vehicles powered by renewable energy sources while exploring energy transfer.

NGSS Alignment: 4-PS3; MS-PS3; MS-ETS1

BRIDGE THE GAP | GRADES 5 - 12 

Learn about the history of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge before designing and testing bridge structures to understand load, forces, and material strength.

NGSS Alignment: MS-ETS1; HS-ETS1

Explore the Museum at your own pace in small groups with an assigned chaperone. Age-appropriate activity guides can be provided upon request. Groups typically need a minimum of 2 hours to view the 300+ vehicles on display.