About the Museum > Museum History
Museum History
Since 2008, the Transportation Museum has been a unique, one-day event for toddlers, adults, and everyone in between. Each year, visitors are treated to interactive and educational exhibits related to all kinds of transportation, from the Transcontinental Railroad and projects to solve Bay Area traffic to programming miniature robots and solving an Amtrak-themed escape room.
Museum History
As a young child, museum director Andrew Mancini loved transportation of all kinds, especially trains. In fact, at the age of five, he had memorized all of the stations on the CalTrain line and knew all of the train engine numbers.
As a way to share his love for, and knowledge of, transportation with friends, family, and neighbors, Andrew created The Transportation Museum at the age of five. The museum, like those in subsequent years, occurred on a single day during the summer at Andrew's house. Early exhibits included displays of the schedules of every Bay Area transit route, organized on the family sofa; learning about the R.M.S. Titanic by allowing guests to send their own Morse code messages; and slot car racing at the "Grapefruit 500," a track set up on the cover of the hot tub in Andrew's backyard.
In 2013, Andrew wrote hand-written, personalized letters to transit agencies in the 40 largest cities in the U.S. and each transit agency in California and Nevada. Over 75 percent of these organizations wrote back, sending in not just the schedules and maps that were requested, but also fun items — chapstick, Yo-Yo toys, and rain ponchos — branded with their logo, forming the foundation of what is today the museum collection.
About the Museum > Museum History
About the Museum > Frequently Asked Questions
Museum History
Frequently Asked Questions
We'll admit that The Transportation Museum isn't your typical museum! It's a one-day event held annually featuring interactive and educational exhibits related to all kinds of transportation, from historical displays (like the Pony Express or the Transcontinental Railroad) to those looking toward the future (solving Bay Area traffic and traveling to Mars). If it's your first time visiting the museum or you're interested in a refresher on what to expect, read answers to common guest questions.
What are the exhibits like?
Each of the museum exhibits are different, but each year's museum brings between 10 to 12 brand-new exhibits to the public. Each exhibit combines both educational components and interactive activities, so every display can be enjoyed by both kids and adults. For example, in the Float Your Boat exhibit at the museum in 2016, guests learned the science behind how boats float and discovered what buoyancy and water displacement is. Then, guests worked to build a boat out of LEGOs that could carry cargo containers while remaining afloat. In an exhibit at the museum in 2019, visitors programmed miniature robots through a San Francisco-themed obstacle course to learn, hands-on, how self-driving cars function. These two exhibits are just a couple of examples of the educational and interactive combination present at each of the museum's displays.
Since 2008, the Transportation Museum has been a unique, one-day event for toddlers, adults, and everyone in between. Each year, visitors are treated to interactive and educational exhibits related to all kinds of transportation, from the Transcontinental Railroad and projects to solve Bay Area traffic to programming miniature robots and solving an Amtrak-themed escape room.
Museum History
As a young child, museum director Andrew Mancini loved transportation of all kinds, especially trains. In fact, at the age of five, he had memorized all of the stations on the CalTrain line and knew all of the train engine numbers.
As a way to share his love for, and knowledge of, transportation with friends, family, and neighbors, Andrew created The Transportation Museum at the age of five. The museum, like those in subsequent years, occurred on a single day during the summer at Andrew's house. Early exhibits included displays of the schedules of every Bay Area transit route, organized on the family sofa; learning about the R.M.S. Titanic by allowing guests to send their own Morse code messages; and slot car racing at the "Grapefruit 500," a track set up on the cover of the hot tub in Andrew's backyard.
In 2013, Andrew wrote hand-written, personalized letters to transit agencies in the 40 largest cities in the U.S. and each transit agency in California and Nevada. Over 75 percent of these organizations wrote back, sending in not just the schedules and maps that were requested, but also fun items — chapstick, Yo-Yo toys, and rain ponchos — branded with their logo, forming the foundation of what is today the museum collection.
Exhibits > 2016 Exhibits > Lights, Camera, Action: Transit in Movies
Lights, Camera, Action: Transit in Movies (Transportation Museum 2016)
Watch some fantastic, thrilling transportation-related scenes from movies and television shows. Scroll down to watch some videos and learn about other movies to watch.
Watch the Exhibit Video
Lights, Camera, Action: Transit in Movies
What movies and episodes were featured in the exhibit?
From the video above, you've seen a preview of unique transportation movies and TV episodes. Next time you're looking for a family-friendly, sure-to-be-a-hit movie, try one of these!
Bullitt (1968): Senator Walter Chalmers is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal’s hothead brother Johnny is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen). When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses, leading to one of the most famous car-chase scenes ever filmed. Rated PG.
IMDb Link > Rotten Tomatoes (97%) Link >
Unstoppable (2010): When a massive, unmanned locomotive roars out of control, the threat is more ominous than just a derailment. The train is laden with toxic chemicals, and an accident would decimate human life and cause an environmental disaster. The only hope of bringing the train to a safe stop is in the hands of a veteran engineer (Denzel Washington) and a young conductor (Chris Pine), who must risk their lives to save those in the runaway's path. This movie is inspired by true events. Rated PG-13.
IMDb Link > Rotten Tomatoes (86%) Link >
Duel (1971): David Mann (Dennis Weaver), a mild mannered electronics salesman, is driving crosscountry on a two-lane highway when he encounters an old oil tanker driven by an unseen driver who seems to enjoy annoying him with dangerous antics on the road. Unable to escape the menacing big rig, David finds himself in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the monstrous truck, resulting in a fantastic climax and incredible ending. Duel is one of Steven Spielberg's earliest films. Rated PG.
IMDb Link > Rotten Tomatoes (88%) Link >
The Twilight Zone: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (1963): While traveling by airliner, Bob Wilson thinks he sees a gremlin on the wing. Bob tries to alert his wife and the flight crew to the gremlin's presence, but every time someone else looks out of the window, the gremlin leaps out of view, so Bob's claim seems outlandish. Bob realizes that his wife he is going crazy, but his bigger concern is that, if nothing is done about the gremlin, it will damage the airliner and cause it to crash. Rated PG.
Have you seen any of these movies, or want to recommend another movie? Leave us a note here!
What other transportation-themed shows should you watch?
Here are some other fun movies! Click the movie title to learn more at IMDb.
In Final Run (1999), a new, computer-controlled train loses control due to an error in the system and speeds out-of-control while Glen Singer (Robert Urich) attempts to stop it. Rated PG.
The Lady Vanishes (1938) takes place on a train headed for England, where young Iris (Margaret Lockwood) befriends elderly Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty). When Iris suffers a bout of unconsciousness and wakes to find the old woman has disappeared, the other passengers ominously deny Miss Froy ever existed, so Iris begins to investigate. Not Rated.
Based on the events of the Apollo 13 lunar mission, Apollo 13 (1995) stars astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert, who must work together to get back to Earth when numerous technical problems threaten their safety. Rated PG.
In Flightplan (2005), airplane engineer Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) is heading home from Germany to New York on an airplane with her young daughter. But three hours into the flight, she awakens to find her daughter missing—and the entire flight crew, including Captain Rich (Sean Bean) and Air Marshal Gene Carson (Peter Sarsgaard), claims that the child was never on board. Rated PG-13.
Murder on the Orient Express (1974) combines an intriguing mystery with a humorous script and a wonderful setting—a passenger carriage on the world-famous Orient Express train. Based on a book written by Agatha Christie, the movie's plot twists will certainly keep all ages of viewers in suspense! Rated PG.