museum blue jpg midsizeIt’s easy to take the watches and clocks in your home or office for granted.  With a quick glance, there’s the time telling you whether it’s time to head to work, get lunch, pick up the kids, or go to bed.

There’s a place in Columbia, Pennsylvania that is truly the center of time.  It’s the National Watch and Clock Museum and home to over 12,000 watches and clocks!

The Museum was officially opened to the public in 1977 with fewer than 1,000 items. Today, the Museum is recognized as the largest and most comprehensive horological collection in North America. Some of our Museum items are literally priceless— one of a kind. In fact, the Museum boasts thousands of priceless objects that can rarely be viewed anywhere else. The entire collection has incredible historical value.

After a stroll through the long, dark time tunnel, you will find yourself transported back to the time of Stonehenge and water clocks, where timekeeping first got its start.  From there, you begin your journey through time where thousands of years later, (or an hour and a half in Museum time) you find yourself standing speechless before the Mars Clock wondering, “Where did the time go?”

With a tour through the National Watch and Clock Museum, no longer will time be taken for granted.  You’ll leave the Museum with a keen awareness and appreciation for how it all began, and how timekeeping has evolved both in accuracy and beauty through the years.

The Museum is located in western Lancaster County, just off Route 30, and only a few blocks from the Susquehanna River.  The building is motor coach friendly and fully accessible with plenty of parking, ramps, level galleries, wide hallways, and spacious restrooms.  When possible, tours can be arranged for entry to the Museum prior to regular hours.  Group rates are available, including complimentary admission for driver and escort.

With 12,000 to 15,000 visitors annually, the Museum has a full schedule of activities throughout the year. Some of the popular annual events include Night at the Museum Sleepover, Homeschool Day, Make-and-Take Clock Workshops, along with fun and educational special exhibits. The Museum even hosts annual events like beer-tasting at Hops ‘n’ Clocks. Events like these are fundraisers for the Museum’s Library & Research Center.

This extraordinary museum is an unforgettable interactive adventure through time that will captivate and thrill the passionate collector, the mechanically curious, the wide-eyed child, and everyone in between!

Plan a visit to Columbia, Pennsylvania where there’s all the time in the world and where we always have time on our hands!