The 2015 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally isn’t until August 1, 2015, but as early as now, visitors to the iconic city in South Dakota can enjoy the festivities a little early as the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame has announced the opening of its newest exhibit: “My First Ride.”

As the name of the exhibit explicitly points out, this exhibit will be primarily focused on featuring riders and their first motorcycles, as well as stories from people all over America, recounting the very first time they climbed on the saddle of a bike, beginning their love affairs with motorcycles. The exhibit will also have an online component, designed to enhance the visitor’s experience with QR codes scattered throughout the museum. These codes can be scanned with any smart phone and can be used to access additional content on the Internet to better appreciate the history and remarkable memories of the motorcycles on display.

The museum is also hoping that visitors can share their own stories and experiences with a motorcycle to help grow the exhibit with more personal tales and anecdotes from visitors who themselves have their own stories to tell. It’s about as interactive of a museum as you’ll come across these days, and the whole “share your own motorcycle story” does give visitors a chance to be part of the exhibit, however long it lasts.

It’s definitely a cool appetizer of sorts as we all count down the days to the 2015 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. So if any of you just happen to be in Sturgis at this time of the year, do yourselves a solid and check out the “My First Ride” exhibit at the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame. Who knows, some of you might even end up having your own motorcycles partake in the festivities.

Be advised, though. The museum is open all seven days of the week during the summer. From Monday to Saturday, the musem will be open from 9 am to 5 pm whereas on Sunday, it’ll be taking in visitors from 10 am to 4 pm.

Continue reading to read more about the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame’s “My First Ride” exhibit.

Why it matters

The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame’s “My First Ride” exhibit is arguably one of the smartest ideas it could’ve thought of as an appetizer before the 2015 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Why do I think it’s a smart idea? Simple, really.

It’s an exhibit for motorcycle riders, or to put it bluntly, it’s for us. It’s for everybody who grew up loving motorcycles. It’s for all of us who first rode a motorcycle when we were kids, building up that interest into a devotion that has lasted all of our lives.

The museum wants to showcase that love and familiarity with motorycles and turn it into an exhibit that we can all relate to. It’s too bad that the exhibit has already started because it probably would’ve been a better idea to open it a little closer to the rally. But that’s just me being bitter because I won’t be able to go see it.

But for those with the chance to do so, don’t miss out on this opportunity to involve yourselves in the exhibit. The museum is even inviting visitors and anybody who loves bikes to share their own stories and experiences with their motorcycle to help grow the exhibit. Just send an email to info@sturgismuseum.com, use the subject line “My First Ride”, and tell them your story.

You never know. You might find yourselves becoming a part of the exhibit itself. That’s the beauty of this whole thing. It’s not just an exhibit for fans, but in a lot of ways, it’s an exhibit by the fans.