The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA | Museums and Galleries

On June 11, 1994, Margie and Robert E. Petersen fulfilled a longtime dream when they became founding benefactors to start the Petersen Automotive Museum.
Covering four floors, the facility features permanent exhibits on the first floor that trace the history of the automobile. Visitors are invited to walk through, not by, exhibits and dioramas and experience settings of early Los Angeles where the world’s first shopping district was designed.
The second floor presents five rotating galleries with state-of-the-art displays of racecars, classic cars, vintage motorcycles, concept cars, celebrity and movie cars, and auto design and technology.
The May Family Discovery Center is located on the third floor. Designed to spark interest in science by way of the automobile, the 6,500 square-foot, interactive “hands-on” learning center teaches children basic scientific principles by explaining the fundamental functions of a car.
A spectacular all-glass penthouse conference center, Founder’s Lounge and kitchen, comprise the fourth floor, which is available for special events and functions.
We offer educational programs and tours:
- Schools & Teachers. Theme tours are tailored tours that focus on special topics. The topic is addressed with selected displays, exhibits, and hands-on activities throughout the Museum that best suit the theme. Theme Tours are offered to school groups at no extra charge and are approximately 50 minutes in duration: The Automobile and Architectural Design, Different Engines with Many Fuels, The Model T Ford: The Car that Changed American Life.
The Petersen Automotive Museum joins the efforts of local schools and community-based nonprofit after school program providers to engage students in meaningful cultural experiences while providing a safe, supervised educational alternative to drugs and gangs during the critical after school hours 3-6pm. The Museum’s After School Program teaches students art and science through uniquely designed curricula using the automobile as a learning tool.
- Children & Families. Meet us at the May Family Discovery Center on Discovery Days the First Saturday of Every Month for our monthly arts & crafts activities. Make a souvenir to take home! Every month we are making a special arts & crafts project. Clay hood ornaments, Land Speed key chains, automobile mugs, popup cards, and many more.
Learn about cars and science at our hands-on, interactive kids’ gallery that means you can touch and play with almost everything here.
The Petersen Automotive Museum offers Children's Birthday Parties in the May Family Discovery Center Classroom, located on the 3rd floor.