![]() It was difficult to explain to the kids what the historical significance of this plane was and its massive impact in something they could easily understand. This was the Boeing B-29 super fortress that dropped the first atomic weapon in Hiroshima, Japan. One of the museum’s other attractions was the Enola Gay. It was part of the world’s first rendezvous with Gemini VI-A which were important steps that paved the way to landing on the moon. In 1965, this was part of a mission that showed humans were able to live in weightlessness for 14 days. There was also the Gemini VII space capsule. Various other space related exhibits included the Apollo 11 Flotation Collar. After the historic moon landing in 1969, this was the custom-made flotation collar attached to the command module, Columbia, after it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean carrying three astronauts. We got to see what the astronauts brought into space to help them cope and live including personal hygiene items. There is supposed to be 140+ major space artifacts on display here. This space section had various exhibits of rockets, satellites and cabinets of interesting artifacts like astronauts’ food, clothing and special gear. The Discovery space shuttle was amazing to look at from behind too. Seeing its panels up close and its discolored body was evidence of its many diverse missions that lasted almost 30 years. It flew its 133rd mission and its last one in 2011. ĭiscovery served the longest of all the shuttle fleets with 39 Earth-orbital missions, 365 days in space and traveled almost 150 million miles (240 million km). The Discovery space shuttle was huge and seeing it up close was beyond impressive. It was an incredible feeling to see one of the most important marvels of the space program. Located in its own wing and hangar, we instantly saw the space shuttle upon entering. The museum’s main attraction is the Space Shuttle Discovery. Known as one of the most impressive aircrafts in aviation history, it served the military from 1964-1998. It was designed by Lockheed in the 1960s as a “long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft” with speeds of up to over three times the speed of sound. One of its features is a titanium composite airframe. One of the the first things that caught our eye was the massive and sleek looking SR-71 Blackbird. As a person who doesn’t know too much about planes, it was a bit overwhelming but I was excited to learn the history and see these aircrafts up close. This museum was very impressive and was laid out so well. The hangar had three levels displaying about 120 types of aircraft from different time periods.įor my husband and son who are both space exploration and plane enthusiasts, watching them was like watching kids in a candy store. Many planes were suspended in mid-air but many more were on the ground floor. Standing on the entrance platform and looking out into the hangar was an aviator’s paradise. This huge hangar was filled with aircraft of all sizes. It was built as a sister museum to the National Mall location and to accommodate many of the aircraft that could not fit in the other museum. This museum opened in 2003 and was named in honor of its major donor. The Smithsonian actually has two Air & Space Museums. We loved exploring the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum – Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. Museums can be hit or miss with kids but a family can never go wrong with a visit to any of the Smithsonian Museums in our nation’s capital.
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