The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum:
Celebrating The Spirit of Competition

Submitted by: Harry Hurst, Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum

The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum (SFAM) is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation whose mission is to educate the public on the beneficial effects of the “spirit of competition.” Assembled by renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Frederick Simeone over a span of 50 years, the Museum contains over 60 of the rarest and most significant racing sports cars every built, and opened to the public in June, 2008.

While SFAM strives to cover operating costs through paid admission and rental of the facility for events, education is central to the SFAM mission. The Museum reaches out to schools and organizations to develop innovative ways to incorporate the collection into lesson plans and charitable work. For example, last year 15 blind or visually impaired clients and staff from Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ASB) received a sensory tour of the Museum, a first of its kind for the museum and for the attendees.

The private, behind-the-scenes tour featured the museum’s extensive collection of vintage racing sports cars and focused on the sounds, scents, and feel of the automobiles. Presented by Dr. Fred Simeone, Executive Director of the Museum, the specially designed sensory tour stimulated the visitors' tactile senses.

Participants were able to distinguish between the rumble of a 1916 Stutz Bearcat and a 1956 Jaguar D-Type, and were able to feel the smooth lines and aerodynamic designs characteristic of the racing cars through the years.

SFAM has also worked with schools and universities to incorporate the collection into lesson plans. Recently, two dozen fashion design students from Drexel's Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design visited the Museum as part of their Fashion Design I coursework. The students' assignment was to use unusual and familiar sources of inspiration to develop fresh, new and creative garments. For this particular assignment, the students had to select three cars for inspiration to design a piece that focused on the "waist."

Last summer, over 30 top high school students from around the world, attending the Penn Summer Science Academy (PSSA) at the University of Pennsylvania, had a memorable learning experience at SFAM. The students - who came from ten foreign countries as well as the U.S. - gained firsthand knowledge of the principles of mechanics using two very low tech objects: a bowling ball and a broom.

Using the bowling ball to represent a racecar, students had to navigate a series of tracks using the broom to move, steer and stop the ball/race car. This gave students hands-on experience of abstract concepts like inertia and centripetal acceleration. This format has since been used for local area high school students and for groups of veterans working to receive their GED.

The Museum is located at 6825-31 Norwitch Drive, Philadelphia. Pa., 19153. For more information on the museum, call 215-365-SAFE (7233), or visit the Museum’s Web site at: http://www.simeonemuseum.org. The Museum is available for rental for parties, sales meetings and special events. The Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for students. Children under 8 are admitted free.

*If you know of a for-profit member involved with a community initiative or non-profit organization that is looking to gain a little extra exposure, please have them send a two-paragraph overview of the program and their level of participation to tmanco@greaterphilachamber.com