We have two more days in this area and two “groups” of day trips that I want to make! Today we are heading to Newport News where there is the Virginia Air and Space Science Centre created by NASA. I thought this would be interesting as the other aeronautical museums we have seen and are yet to see 🙂 are either Smithsonian related or the Wright Brothers which I was already aware of its quality as a National entity.
Still avoiding toll roads, which one runs right through Norfolk to the tunnel over to Newport News and places north, we again drove a main street until we could join the highway – this time it was a different main drag though so it was interesting compared to yesterday’s trip back into Norfolk! I wrote about the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel yesterday, I was not aware there are MORE bridges and tunnels for the Chesapeake Bay and we are about to go through another one! This one is toll free too! There is heavy construction going on with this crossing – it looks like they are twinning the roads however not sure about the tunnels of which there is one in each direction. There was another bridge with traffic in the other direction which the blue apparatus (which looks like the one used for the Skytrain in Vancouver funny enough) was building segments for. I took some photos below.
Once on the other side it did not take long to get to Newport News and find the Space Museum. These places tend to be large and tall due to their static displays. I was really looking forward to this museum and had chosen to visit it first, over two other places as I wanted to get a different perspective on flight etc. So far, I have found the American museums that we have visited – from the Transportation, to Flight, to Illusions to the various National Places to be excellent. I did not expect anything less from a NASA sponsored museum. It had some really great displays and an IMAX film (which really I could have passed on as a film about Medical Science is a bit strange considering the type of museum) however what this museum really stressed was the interactive displays (which are meant more for kids – of all ages of course!). I have seen a LOT of static displays however I was really looking forward to the interactive part and it was frustrating that 50% of the things I tried either did not work but were on display or I, the daughter of an engineer who is pretty smart when it comes to these things, could not figure out how to get them to work! So despite the great displays etc I at least left disappointed. I also do not like paying full price for a museum that I cannot experience all the exhibits and there were some that required you to go up stairs or into places that were just not possible for me to go (that other adults would be able to get into). I did take pictures though – here they are!
Well, that was a 10,000 step experience! I know I have some cool pictures however if my mind is not engaged in a museum (I know my mother is probably laughing right now) I get frustrated with the cost of admission.
After looking at the next place (Nature Park) is a 30 minute drive and it will close in 90 minutes we cut our losses and decided to go back into Norfolk and perhaps go for dinner at a GF restaurant that I had found on the way. After a LOT of traffic, we ended up at the hotel and upstairs for appies and shared my prepared appie platter between us along with some food we had still in our fridge downstairs. Tomorrow – we are doing a history lesson for Andrew! Battlefields and Williamsburg!
