Exploring How One Man Built A Town With Chocolate At The Hershey Story Museum

Exploring How One Man Built A Town With Chocolate At The Hershey Story Museum

Right in the heart of Chocolate Avenue in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the Hershey Story Museum offers far more than just a peek into a famous candy bar’s history. This immersive museum tells the deeply personal and expansive story of Milton S. Hershey—the man, entrepreneur, community builder, and philanthropist.

Address: 63 W Chocolate Ave, Hershey, PA 17033

Category: Museum

Duration: 1 – 2 hours

Directions and Hours

The Hershey Story Museum is located at 63 W Chocolate Ave, Hershey, PA 17033. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free parking is available in the parking garage located directly behind the museum at 103 W Chocolate Ave, Hershey, PA 17033.

Admission to the museum varies from $16.50 for adults to $12.50 for children aged 3-12. The museum also has military, senior, and teacher discounts available.

Admission for the Chocolate Lab class also varies from $16.50 for adults to $12.50 for children aged 3-12. Chocolate Tastings vary in price from a full flight for $13 and a half flight for $8.

Be sure to check out their official website for the latest information.

Exterior of the Hershey Story

Tenacious Beginnings

When you arrive at the museum, you are given a token that you can scan throughout the museum. From the lobby, you are guided to the second floor where the Hershey Story begins.

Interactive token being scanned

The first exhibit, Failures to Fortune, dives into Hershey’s rocky early years as a budding entrepreneur. The gallery doesn’t shy away from Milton’s numerous failures. Original documents, advertisements, and personal artifacts from failed businesses, including his early attempt at a printing company and several failed confectionery ventures. Hershey finally found success with the Lancaster Caramel Company before starting the Hershey Chocolate Company in what is now known as Hershey, PA.

The Failures to Fortune Exhibit

Sweet Innovations is where Hershey’s ingenuity truly shines. Here, you’ll find actual chocolate-making equipment from the early 1900s, including a rare conching machine that refined the texture of chocolate, as well as early tempering devices that helped achieve that smooth, glossy finish. A fascinating Kiss-wrapping machine that still operates today, offers a close-up look at how each iconic silver-wrapped chocolate is produced at lightning speed. Hershey Kisses were originally hand-wrapped between 1907-1921.

An original Kiss-Wrapping machine

Hershey didn’t just produce chocolate, he produced a variety of other items that coincided with the chocolate-making process. Cocoa butter soap and cocoa shell mulch were byproducts and created an additional revenue source for the young company.

A variety of products originally sold by Hershey

In the Power of Promotion gallery, visitors step into a world of colorful vintage advertisements. Bold packaging and clever slogans helped transform Hershey’s chocolate into a household name. A long timeline showcases the Hershey Company products and historical events, allowing visitors to find when past or current favorites were first sold.

The Power of Promotion exhibit and timeline

The exhibit also shines a light on the lives of Milton and Catherine Hershey. As the two achieved success, they began living an elegant lifestyle. The two began traveling across the world and were slated to travel on the H.M.S Titanic’s maiden voyage. A last-minute issue caused the two to change their travel plans. The canceled check for the Titanic tickets is on display along with Milton’s passport.

The canceled Hershey check to White Star Lines

A Model Town in Dairy Country

Milton Hershey chose what is now known as Hershey Pa for its factory due to its location, available land, and dairy farms. With building a factory comes the need for workers. Milton built an entire town with homes, schools, churches, public transportation, and entertainment to help create the perfect utopia for his workers.

Artifacts from other towns named Hershey throughout the world

This gallery features maps of the original town layout, and artifacts from Hersheypark in its infancy. Artifacts from Hershey’s building phase, including original manhole and construction blueprints, bring the era to life.

Hershey Trust Company Blueprints

This exhibit also highlights one of the other most notable candy producers in Hershey, Pa. Harry Reese began making chocolate in his basement. Milton Hershey actually partnered with Reese to provide chocolate coatings. In 1963, the Hershey Chocolate Corporation brought the Reese Candy Company, which included Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Reese’s Cups history exhibit

The success of the Hershey Chocolate Corporation led to the success of the town of Hershey. A Living Legacy exhibit features the philanthropic side of Milton. Here, visitors learn about the founding of the Milton Hershey School, a tuition-free boarding school established for orphaned boys, which today educates over 2,000 underprivileged children.

A photo opportunity with a Hershey Kiss

At the end of the museum, visitors can vote on where you would like to make a difference between Children, Community, Culture, and Education. You make a vote by depositing your token into one of the 4 bins, with a large heart-shaped screen displaying your name and contribution.

The heart-shaped screen showcasing visitor support

Chocolate Flights and Lab Fun

Back on the first floor, the museum offers hands-on fun with chocolate. The Chocolate Lab is a guided workshop where guests make their own chocolate creations while learning about tempering, emulsifying, and the chemistry of cacao.

Chocolate Lab entrance

Next door, the Tasting Room offers a flight of warm drinking chocolates from around the world. Each tiny cup represents a different cacao region, like Ghana, Peru, or Mexico. A tasting card explains each country’s growing climate, flavor profile, and harvesting methods, turning a sweet treat into a global education.

Special Exhibits

Beyond the core exhibits, the Hershey Story Museum features a rotating Special Exhibit Gallery that adds fresh layers to each visit. This dedicated space explores focused themes like “Milton Hershey School,” which once highlighted Milton’s investments in children and education.

Hershey’s Special Exhibit

The exhibit also features many candy products and advertisements by the Hershey Chocolate Company. After Milton Hershey died, the company struggled to keep the brand fresh and alive. The company expanded into new products, restaurants, and even promotions. The 1982 promotion of Reese’s Pieces in E.T. caused the candy’s popularity to skyrocket.

A Hershey’s product sample kit

Cafe, Gifts, and More

After your museum journey, stop by Lisa’s Café on Chocolate. The Café is open daily from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m and serves breakfast and lunch. Salads, sandwiches, and coffee make it a relaxing spot to refuel. Before heading out, don’t miss the Museum Shop, where the spirit of Hershey continues in the form of chocolates, cookbooks, and souvenirs. While it isn’t as large as the gift shop at Hershey’s Chocolate World, it still provides the perfect place to find something sweet to remember your visit.

The Hershey Museum Shop

Final Thoughts

If you enjoy history, this spot is for you. While I did not get to enjoy the Chocolate Lab or tastings, the museum is worth the stop. With meticulously curated exhibits, original artifacts, and hands-on fun, the museum offers a memorable experience for all ages. While Hershey’s Chocolate World is free, this museum offers a much closer look at the candy-making process and impact made by Milton Hershey.

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