Second Annual Museum Hop

Save the date, but don’t leave the country. Your Museum Hop passport will get you into nine very different parts of the Chattanooga museum world this year.

You can explore and experience the unexpected on August 9 and 10 when nine Chattanooga-area museums open their doors for a very special package deal during Chattanooga’s second annual Museum Hop Aug. 9 and 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum Hop admission for all nine museums is $20, a savings of more than $60 over regular admission prices.

Here’s how it works. Register at www.tvrail.com or by phone at 423-894-8028. Then pick up your passport at any of the participating museums. As you travel at your own pace from museum to museum, be sure to have your passport stamped. At the end of your journey, if you visit all nine museums, you’ll receive a t-shirt.

Last year the first Museum Hop had six museums on the passport tour. This year, the roster has grown to nine participating museums. New museums this year are the International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum, Coker Tire Museum, and National Park Partners.

PARTICIPATING MUSEUMS

International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum (new in 2018)

3315 Broad Street

Enjoy a close encounter with a tow truck that is actually fun, positive, and nostalgic. Take a walk through history and learn how the towing and recovery industry started right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1916. See 18 antique tow trucks and two Model T automobiles on display as well as hundreds of collectible toy tow trucks. Take time to walk through our Wall of the Fallen memorial grounds dedicated to the men and women who have lost their lives in the line of service in the towing & recovery industry. For more information: internationaltowingmuseum.org.

Coker Tire Museum (new in 2018)

1317 Chestnut Street

Founded in 1958, Coker Tire started as a local tire shop and grew into the world’s largest manufacturer/supplier of tires and wheels for collector vehicles. The Coker Tire Company Museum features vehicles and memorabilia spanning over 120 years of automotive history. The private collection highlights cars, trucks and motorcycles that the company offers products for. For more information: cokertire/com/tours.

National Park Partners (new in 2018)

Booth at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center, 200 East M.L. King Blvd.

The oldest and largest of America's Civil War parks, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (NMP), commemorates the 1863 battles for Chattanooga that marked a major turning point in the war. Learn about the NMP, which spans the borders of Georgia and Tennessee, and its newest addition — Moccasin Bend National Archeological District, added in 2003, which not only commemorates the Civil War but preserves over 12,000 years of human history and heritage. For more information: www.npp-ccm.org.

Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center

Northgate Mall, mall entrance near Sears

Heroes, courage and patriotism — the museum tells more than the history of the highest and rarest military decoration awarded by the President of the United States. Visitors also will hear stories of courage, commitment, citizenship, sacrifice and integrity — traits that apply to everyone. Travel back to 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln awarded the first Medal of Honor, then all the way to present-day recipients. Chattanoogans are the stewards of hallowed ground where 33 Medals of Honor were awarded — from the blood-soaked fields of Chickamauga to Missionary Ridge to the stirring site of the Battle Above the Clouds. For more information: mohm.org.

Songbirds Guitars Museum

Chattanooga Choo-Choo

Every Guitar has a story to tell. Explore a priceless collection of rare vintage guitars like no other on Earth through audio and visual components. Experience American history through an extensive anthology of permanent and revolving exhibits. You will see the most complete collection of Fender and Gibson electric guitars, along with many other brands, many rare custom colors, prototypes and many that were owned by some famous musicians over the years. For more information: songbirdsguitars.com.

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum

4119 Cromwell Road

Visitors experience the “Golden Age” of railroading through vintage trains placed in an authentic setting. Guests will have a chance to tour the display yard featuring steam and diesel locomotives as well as passenger and freight cars. Visitors can also enjoy a train ride on the Missionary Ridge Local. For more information: tvrail.com.

Bessie Smith Cultural Center

200 East M.L. King Blvd.

Located in an area once dubbed the city’s black enterprise zone, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center preserves African and African American history in Chattanooga and the nation through art, research, entertainment and education. Highlights include rich cultural heritage, historical documents and artifacts portraying African Americans’ contributions to our nation. The museum also captures reflections of African American history through photography by local artists of life before the 1800s to the present day to compare community styles, myths and realities. The center also houses a performance hall dedicated to the “Empress of the Blues,” Bessie Smith. For more information: bessiesmithcc.org.

6^th Cavalry Museum

6 Barnhardt Circle, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia

Where else can you see an M-47 Patton tank? Long before there was the city of Fort Oglethorpe (incorporated in 1949) there was the Army Post at Fort Oglethorpe from 1902 to 1947. The 6^th Cavalry was permanently stationed at Fort Oglethorpe from 1919 to 1942 and considered it their home. On the Post’s parade ground, surrounded by officers’ quarters and many original Post buildings, visitors will see the history of the 6^th Cavalry (1861 to the present) come alive with authentic weapons, uniforms, photographs, documents, a fully restored 1944 Willys Jeep and of course the M-47 Patton tank. For more information: 6thcavalrymuseum.org.

Houston Museum of Decorative Arts

201 High Street

Become enmeshed in a beautiful and bygone era when you’re surrounded by a priceless and extensive collection of Victorian art glass and antiques. A Victorian residence in the Bluff View Arts District contains one of the finest collections of antique glass, ceramics and pottery in the world, as well as many other kinds of rare and unusual antiques. The collection is an enduring tribute to the determination of one extraordinary woman who spent half a century putting it together, Anna Safley Houston. The almost unbelievable story of her life, her many marriages and the hardships and deprivation she willingly accepted to preserve her collection is told here. Take a guided tour for the full experience. For more information: thehoustonmuseum.org.