I have been looking forward to this day for quite a long time as I love visiting the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC! The first time I visited it was in 1976 and at that time I was hooked! I have worked in the cities around Washington, DC several times and on a couple of the trips, while staying over the weekend, I have also been able to visit the museums, especially this one! One of the things that I like about it is how they keep their exhibits current, yet respect the aviation history in the USA and around the World.
We arrived at the Air and Space Museum about 10:10am which was within our ticket time slot, however the majority of the 10am crowd had already gone into the building and we were able to go in without lining up! The next timeslot was due to enter at 10:30am. Of course, the first exhibit we went to HAD to be the Wright Brothers – you should start off any aviation museum visit at the very beginning of flight! What an experience it was!
Shortly after entering the exhibit, I noticed that the original Wright brothers flyer plane was on display at eye level which is different than last time I visited, where it was hanging from the ceiling at the front of the building. This is also where the entrance was to the museum, where now the entrance is in the back. There happened to be a volunteer nearby so I confirmed with him, if that was the original plane, previously hung from the ceiling and he said it was. I chatted a bit more with the volunteer and then he told me that we should stay for his “talk”. This man was an aeronautical engineer (top the engineering pyramid) who had worked in the avionics industry and he knew his stuff! He talked about the Wright Brothers, what a plane needs to be able to fly, how the bicycle figured into what the Wright Brothers did and then about the plane behind him. So the plane had been taken down from the museum ceiling and as the original muslin that was covering the wings of the plane was falling apart, it was very carefully re-covered. The frame remains the same as the Wright Brothers built aside from the one stay that was broken when the plane flipped after the 4th flight. Here are my pictures of the Wright Brothers exhibit –
The next gallery we visited was all about flight (after the 1st flight) and the different things people have done to accomplish getting up into the clouds – from a lawn chair on a balloon, to early planes to drones.
Now we moved into the exhibit regarding The Planets in our Solar System – this was a very complex display and showed really just how small we are on earth compared to the whole galaxy! Examining all the planets and their respective moons and moons and planets yet to appear is quite fascinating!
Next we went to the “One Connected World” display which focused on aviation and space flight and how they connect the world – making it smaller yet more complex.
After a snack as it was lunch time, we walked around the upper lobby and viewed the planes from the ceiling. I was also looking for the military and commercial planes exhibit and I could not find it – then I clued in – half the museum was closed for renovations! Oh well, we have seen our share of planes over the last 2 weeks and I am sure this Smithsonian will open up and be even better and guess what? We can return! Due to that, there was only 1 exhibit left to visit along with the lobby area where there were 2 planes displayed. Here are my pictures of the planes in the ceiling and the 747, 727 and others that were on static display along with an engine or two…
Next we visited the Early Flight gallery which included what was done around the world in terms of early flight efforts, in addition to the Wright Brothers.
Now into the Transportation display – basically a display on speed no matter the craft. This exhibit was right up Andrew’s alley and he sure enjoyed it!
I do not usually take pictures in the washroom but I could not resist these two!
After we left the Air and Space Museum, as we were running EARLY as it did not take the whole day that I had budgeted for, we decided to walk over to the Museum of American History. I have always enjoyed this museum too, as it speaks to what has happened in history, partly in my lifetime. We stayed away from the American exhibits of war and things like that and just focused on the lighter subjects – like the US Presidents, First Ladies, Forensic Investigations and Hollywood through the years. See Part II of the day!