Through its latest exhibit, a Moody Street museum hopes to highlight what the staff refers to as one of the world's greatest inventions - the bicycle.
"A short time ago, bicycles were not taken for granted. They were really high-tech," said the museum's executive director Dan Yeager. "We take for granted today the long process that went into this and the many countries and many processes involved."
What was once thought of as a technological breakthrough in transportation is often taken for granted in modern society, said staff at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation.
"Some of us had one as a child, some of us have one stuffed in a garage somewhere," Yeager said. "The process of innovation that went into ... (the early years of bicycle use) is phenomenal."
The exhibit, The Bicycle Takes Off, features 11 bicycles mostly from the late 1800s, along with a series of informational panels to guide museum visitors on the path to the beginnings of the two-wheeled vehicle. The exhibit opens Thursday and runs through May.
Elln Hagney, director of education and development for the museum, said the exhibit is a combination of collections from Holden resident Dave Toppin and a previous bicycle exhibit that toured New England in the early 2000s.
Toppin loaned the museum 11 bicycles from his family collection.
"My father's been collecting antique bicycles since 1967 so I kind of grew up with it," he said. "I'm an enthusiast and a collector."
The exhibit chronicles the history of the bicycle and also features advertisements and photographs.
An 1868 Boneshaker, a French bicycle which has a large wooden wheel in front, is one of the oldest bicycles featured in the collection.
"It has wooden wheels without any rubber. Imagine taking a wagon wheel and attaching it to a bike frame," Hagney said. "That's why it's called a Boneshaker, because when you are going over the roads it would literally shake your bones."
Another highlight of the collection is an 1879 Columbia bicycle, which was among the earliest bicycles manufactured in America.
Hagney said the exhibit is filled with information about the development of the vehicles. And there may be a few surprises.
"Things like pneumatic tires and ball bearings were things invented because of bicycles, not because of automobiles," she said. Visitors are "going to learn the history of this machine that we've forgotten and how it impacted our society, our means of transportation and our social life."
An opening reception will take place on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Refreshments and music will be provided. Tickets are $10. Reservations can be made by calling 781-893-5410 or by e-mail at elln@crmi.org.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com.
