FROM MUSKETS TO MOTORCARS: YANKEE INGENUITY AND THE ROAD TO MASS PRODUCTION: In the early 1800s, in the years between the American Revolution and the Civil War, a revolution in manufacturing began. Before that revolution, mechanical devices--including guns--were made one at a time, by skilled craftsmen. Each one was different. It took many days to make one gun, one wagon, or one plow. There were no sewing machines, no automatic writing machines, no self-propelled vehicles. The automobile was invented in the late 1800s, and in 1908 Henry Ford introduced the Model T. That first year his factory produced about 6,000 Model T autos. Just a few years later, in 1916, they built almost 600,000. By 1927, using mass production techniques, Ford had sold 15 million Model Ts.

This exhibition on display 2008 - 2010 celebrates the 2008 centennial of the Model T. It  explores how the tools and techniques of precision manufacturing made mass production possible. Historic machine tools are displayed alongside the new products that they made: early manufactured clocks, firearms, sewing machines, typewriters, and bicycles. At the center of the exhibition, a working machine shop staffed by museum interpreters allows visitors to see machine tools at work. Hands-on activities help the visitor understand the meaning of “precision” and “interchangeable parts.” Poster art, advertisements, shop photographs, and company brochures help provide a human context for the machines and for the consumer goods on display.