A few weeks ago, I was able to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. It is a veritable treasure trove for history buffs, flight enthusiasts, space cadets, and even sci-fi fans. I could have spent weeks there. There are far to many things to see and read. But I did feel like I accomplished quite a lot, so I thought I would give you a list of things you can do at the National Air and Space Museum.
Things you can do at the National Air and Space Museum:
1. See the original plane developed by the Wright Brothers
Now, from what I understand, the framework of the plane is the original framework from the first flight in 1903 that launched the world into the aerial age. The canvas in the picture is newer, and the original canvas is in a glass case nearby for protection. Still, it's a pretty major piece of history to behold.
2. Walk Through Skylab
Skylab was the first U.S. space station. It orbited the earth from 1973 to 1979 for experimental purposes, including solar observation, and multispectral analysis of the earth. At Air and Space, you can walk through a portion of it to get a glimpse of how its inhabitants lived in space. As a special bonus, you can also see this creepy mannequin guy.
3. See a gallery of pictures from Mars
In the upper story of Air and Space, there is a room devoted to pictures taken of our neighboring planet by the Mars Rover. The exhibit is set up to have a sparse and bleak ambiance, sort of like Mars itself
4. Become more informed about NASA's manned space missions
Downstairs, there is a cool recreation of the Apollo 11 lunar landing module that you should probably take your picture in front of. Upstairs is an exiting exhibit dedicated to NASA's manned space missions, from Mercury to Apollo. There is a great timeline explaining the missions and listing the key players in each one, as well as a plethora of space memorabilia. (Including some control panels from the flights, which you unfortunately can't play with , because they're behind glass).
5. Make your inner (or outer, if you are me) sci-fi fan smile
Go down to the very bottom level of the museum gift shop, toward the back of the room. There, you will find the U.S.S Enterprise. You should take a picture with that, too. Also, on the top floor of the museum in general, right across from the Skylab entrance, there is a series of informational posters, one of which is about the original series of Star Trek, and the way it was effected by and had an effect upon our culture. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of this. Also unfortunately, the poster had an entire blurb about the episode "The Way to Eden" on it. I highly doubt that the creator of the sign watched that episode before mentioning it.
I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my highlights of the Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. Do you have exciting Air and Space stories you want to tell? Is there anything I wrote that you want to elaborate on? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.
Keep on glowing in the dark ,
Elora
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