Riding a Harley Is Child’s Play for These Kids

At Boone County Public Library in Kentucky, children learn how to ride motorcycles in ‘hands-on’ exhibit.

If your rugrats are chomping at the bit to ride a Harley, here’s your chance to let them. Now through January 6, the Boone County Public Library in Burlington, Kentucky, is hosting a “Hands-On Harley-Davidson” exhibit.

Developed by the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum in cooperation with Harley-Davidson, the traveling exhibit encourages STEM education for kids ages 3 to 12. What’s STEM? Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Watching the library’s one-minute YouTube video, you get an idea of the size and look of the exhibit. This isn’t a little cubicle shoved into the corner of a dusty room. This exhibit is big with full-sized walls to make it seem like kids are in a real Harley-Davidson dealership.

The exhibit encompasses three areas: Dream It! Build It! and Ride It!

Dream It! is an “engineering lab” that enables children to learn how acceleration, speed, friction, and gravity affect a motorcycle. They also learn what happens when you throttle-on, lean into a curve, or descend a mountain road.

In the Build It! area, kids learn about engine parts and how they work together. After that, they get to build their own kid-sized motorcycle inspired by a real Harley-Davidson Road King. Interchangeable custom motor parts and accessories include seats, mirrors, tail pipes, and engine components.

Then the real fun begins. In the Ride It! area, kids first review hand signals and traffic safety. After that, they get to hop on a pretend bike and take a virtual ride. Here, they get to use real turn signals and throttle to control the speed of their bike. There’s even wind blowing in their face!

Judging from comments on the library’s Facebook post about the exhibit, kids are having a blast! “All three of my daughter’s loves it. They had so much fun,” said one mother.

Oh, and guys? The “Hands-On Harley-Davidson” is free for everyone to play with. Even adults.

Photos: Boone County Public Library

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Dan Gregory

Dan Gregory is a longtime journalist and editor whose over 20 years of professional experience includes covering the automotive world for Los Angeles' EDGE Magazine before joining the Internet Brands Auto Group team. Dan currently contributes to Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Rennlist, JK Forum and Team Speed, among others

When not covering the auto industry and motorcycle events for the Harley-Davidson enthusiast site H-D Forums, the F-150-driving auto enthusiast can usually be found doing donuts and leaving smoke in local parking lots in the general Iowa area while listening to Slipknot.

He can be reached at autoeditors@internetbrands.com.