(Note: the
pioneer period is considered to be that
time from the first attempts at manned
flight and motorized wheeled transport
to circa 1930).
The Owls
Head Transportation Museum demonstrates
many of the restored aircraft, vehicles
and engines in its collection during
special event days. Through these
special event days in the summer and
fall, the Museum draws thousands of
people, and is able to showcase its
collection with demonstrations of
vehicles, which provide the required
contrast and comparison to the Museum's
pioneer collection.
Annually, more than 1500 exhibitors
display their antique, classic and
special interest autos, motorcycles,
aircraft, engines, bicycles, and related
vehicles. These exhibitors, combined
with the Museum's own collections and
airshows featuring its World War One
aircraft, provide a unique opportunity
for Maine residents, tourists,
hobbyists, researchers, and enthusiasts
to experience and better understand the
evolution of transportation.
From
the beginning this philosophy of
demonstrating the collection, combined
with a dynamic schedule of events,
educational programs and changing
exhibitions, has provided an added
dimension of transportation history not
available elsewhere. The Museum is a
mecca to individuals and institutions
interested in pioneer aircraft,
automobiles, engines, motorcycles,
bicycles, and carriages.
Today,
the Museum has one of the world's finest
collections of original and
representative pioneer aircraft. With a
core collection of pioneer engines,
automobiles, carriages, bicycles and
motorcycles as well as special events,
exhibits, guided tours, programs and
services, the Museum draws between
75,000 and 80,000 visitors annually. It
continues to refine its collection and
focuses on pre-1930 transportation.
Each
year hundreds of people visit the Museum
to study their particular interest in
the pioneer era of transportation.
Insights learned from the operation of
certain pieces of the collection are
valuable to scholars, institutions, and
individuals with special interests in
these machines. The Owls Head
Transportation Museum serves as a
clearinghouse for information in the
field of these landmark aircraft, ground
vehicles, and engines.
The
evolution of ground and air
transportation has had profound effects
upon humanity around the world. The
Museums ongoing challenge is to continue
and to present the connections,
relationships, and effects that
transportation has had on mankind, in a
way that audiences can understand.
