About two hours northeast of Indianapolis, Auburn, Indiana is home to a car museum that does not feel like a car museum. The National Auto & Truck Museum, also known as NATMUS, is located inside the original Auburn Automobile Company factory buildings, and it is the kind of place where a kid who has never cared about cars will still find something to stop and stare at.
There are classic cars, trucks and racing vehicles, yes. But there are also bright neon signs, vintage gas pumps, movie-inspired cars, miniature models, old storefronts and a massive red-and-silver GM Futurliner that genuinely makes people stop mid-sentence.
Related Article: 30 Amazing Day Trips from Indianapolis
What Makes NATMUS Worth the Drive
The building is part of the appeal. NATMUS sits in the original Auburn Automobile Company factory, and the Service and New Parts Building and the L-29 Cord Building were declared a National Historic Landmark in 2005. Walking in, you can feel that the space has history of its own, separate from whatever is parked inside it.
The museum covers about 80,000 square feet with more than 190 cars and trucks on display. The main floor holds the classic cars, petroliana, neon and the Futurliner. The lower level is trucks, utility vehicles and some of the more unusual builds in the collection.
Related Article: 6 Museum + Zoo Day Trips from Indianapolis
A Fun Stop for Cars-Loving Kids
Right now NATMUS has a Radiator Springs-inspired display with Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater and Doc Hudson on the floor. It runs through June 1, 2026, and kids under 5 get in free. If you have a preschooler who has watched Cars forty-seven times, this is a pretty easy sell.
On May 30, 2026, NATMUS is hosting a Kids & Cars event with free admission, the movie playing all day, photo opportunities and select vehicles kids can actually sit in.
Don’t Miss the GM Futurliner #10
The Futurliner is one of 12 built by General Motors for its Parade of Progress tours in the 1940s and 1950s. NATMUS received it in the early 1990s and a crew of volunteers spent seven years restoring it. It is now listed on the National Historic Vehicle Register.
The dimensions are hard to picture until you are standing next to it: 33 feet long, 8 feet wide and more than 11 feet tall. Kids who have no interest in automotive history will still want a photo with it.
Related Article: The Ultimate Guide to Children’s Museums 2 Hours from Indianapolis
Special Exhibits on the Floor Now
The rotating exhibits tend to skew toward racing history, and the current floor has a solid lineup. There are championship Harley-Davidson motorcycles on loan from three-time AMA Grand National Champion Jay Springsteen, a 1970 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car (an Oldsmobile 442 convertible, one of 268 built in Porcelain White) and a NASCAR section worth a longer look.
The NASCAR display includes the 1966 Dodge Charger from the David Pearson and Cotton Owens partnership, the 1964 Dodge Polara, a 1937 Flathead Ford Coupe and a 1969 Talladega race car.
Look for the Little Details
Some of the best things at NATMUS are easy to walk past. The museum has more than 6,000 model toy cars tucked throughout, along with vintage pedal cars, a Hudson feature area and an American truck section downstairs. Give kids something to hunt for and the visit gets a lot longer.
The petroliana collection runs through most of the building: antique gas pumps, vintage signs, oil cans, old gas station displays. NATMUS says it is one of the largest petroliana collections in the country, and it shows.
Step Into the Past
Several recreated storefronts are scattered through the museum, and they tend to be where kids slow down. There is an Auburn Automobile Dealership set up to look like a small-town showroom from around 1935, a Standard Oil Gas Station and a 1948 Valentine Diner that originally operated in Angola, Indiana. At the gas station, kids can stomp the rubber line on the ground and ring the service bell. It is a small thing, but they will do it six times.
Visit the Observation Room
In the basement, the Observation Room looks directly into the Restoration Shop where volunteers are actively working on vehicles. Current projects include a VW Formula Vee, a 1974 Dune Buggy, a 1948 Chevrolet Canopy Express, a 1930s Indy 500 tribute car, a 1928 Chrysler and a 1933 Auburn 105-8. Kids who want to know how things work will plant themselves here for a while.
Make It a Two-Museum Day
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum is right nearby, and NATMUS sells a campus pass covering both. Single-museum admission is $12 for adults and $7 for children ages 5-12. The campus pass is $25 for adults, $15 for kids and $60 for families. Active military get in free with ID. Tickets are purchased onsite.
The drive from Indianapolis to Auburn is about two hours northeast on I-69. Budget a full day if you are doing both museums.
Good to Know Before You Go
National Auto & Truck Museum
Address: 1000 Gordon M. Buehrig Place, Auburn, IN 46706
Hours: Daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Phone: 260-925-9100
Website: natmus.org
The Research Library is open during museum hours and included with admission. Guided and self-guided tours are available, and group tours typically run about two hours.
