Historic Museums of Lehigh Valley

Lehigh Valley’s historic museums are collections of historic and modern, interactive and exclusive, and eccentric and unexpected. Explore Lehigh Valley’s rich cultural scene with more than 20 museums to see.

The America On Wheels Museum in Allentown showcases the history of over-ground transportation with cars, trucks, bicycles, and more on display. The National Museum of Industrial History, is dedicated to preserving America’s rich industrial heritage. Tour the National Canal Museum where the 48-ton Josiah White II canal boat plies the waters of old Section 8 of the Lehigh Canal. Two mules, Hank and George, tow the boat from the museum to the Locktender’s House and back.

There are grand places like the National Museum of Industrial History, a Smithsonian affiliate in Bethlehem, that is housed in a 100-year-old former Bethlehem Steel facility on the largest private brownfield in America, featuring steelmaking prominently, but ranges in the secrets of the silkworm to the making of iron. Hold a 20-pound tray of bobbins that children once carried for nine hours a day at a silk factory. Turn a flywheel to test how much horsepower you can generate. Take a virtual ride in a hot air balloon. Artifacts on display include the first piece of steel rolled in Bethlehem, a 37 mm anti-tank field cannon from World War I, and a silk loom that made White House curtains. 

And, there are those that are intimate, like the Moravian Historical Society in Nazareth, where visitors can discover the significance of music and education in Moravian culture, such as the earliest known violin made in the American colonies is on display. Or the Lehigh & Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum in Bethlehem, where more than 7,000 feet of model railroad track is packed into a building, depicting scenes from the 1960s and 1970s in Lehigh Valley, which was the main artery of railroading on the East Coast.

Tours

See and experience Lehigh Valley through a different lens. Whether it's guided tours or self-guided tours…

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One of the world’s greatest collections of guitars is right here in Lehigh Valley at the Martin Guitar Factory, Museum, and Visitors Center! More than 100 priceless guitars are behind glass, including stage-used instruments from music legends, one-of-a-kind works of art, and models from every…