Ann Arbor to get pinball museum with Kickstarter funding

Pinball machine repair and restoration expert Clay Harrell will open a pinball museum in Ann Arbor, Mich. in the next few months, with the help of more than $10,000 raised through Kickstarter.

The campaign, which ended last week, brought 238 backers to Harrell's assistance, making the Ann Arbor Pinball Museum a reality. The museum will be set up on a 10-acre property that Harrell has been working to fix up. There are already more than 200 machines planned for inclusion in the museum — which are currently sitting tight in a storage facility — and herald from the 1930s up to the present day. As per an agreement with the town, all of Harrell's machines will be free to play and won't require coins to operate.

The Kickstarter campaign made a little more than double its initial funding goal of $5,000, which will be used to make the necessary repairs to the property and prepare the facility for hooking up the pinball machines. According to the page, Harrell is planning to open the Ann Arbor Pinball Museum this fall.