Washington DC - Part III

National Air and Space Museum

I last visited the Air and Space Museum in 1995 when I visited Washington DC with my parents.

...the Smithsonian's aeronautical collection began well before 1976, when the National Air and Space Museum was constructed on the Mall in Washington, DC. One hundred years before, in 1876, a group of 20 beautiful kites was acquired from the Chinese Imperial Commission, seeding what would later become the largest collection of aviation and space artifacts in the world.
The collections of the Museum were first housed in the Arts and Industries (A&I) Building, then after World War I, expanded to a Quonset hut erected by the War Department behind the Smithsonian Castle. Affectionately known as the "Tin Shed," the new building opened to the public in 1920, and would remain in use for the next 55 years.--History, National Air and Space Museum website

I carried Abigail through security and we entered into the first gallery which is full of planes and spacecraft (such as the Spirit of St. Louis visible above).  Amy took our picture in front of an Apollo landing module.

I found it sad when I reflected that the last Space Shuttle mission happened before Abigail was born.  I remember hearing space shuttles land at Edwards Air Force base when I was growing up in Southern California--and sometimes watching launches on TV in school.  Hopefully she'll be able to see Americans go into space in something besides a Soyuz craft.

The missile pit is quite interesting--it is amazing to see just how tall some of the missiles and rockets are.

This was pretty much the only exhibit that we went through.  Amy was feeding Abigail, so I headed into the exhibit on my own at first to look around.

Throughout history we have sought to better understand our world by viewing it from above.  We first climbed trees and hills and fortress towers to observe the lay of the land.  Today, aircraft and spacecraft look down on Earth to predict the weather, survey the terrain, monitor crops and forests, plan cities, locate resources, and gather intelligence.
From balloons, to aircraft, to spacecraft, we have pushed ourselves higher and higher toward different goals and challenges.  Yet, to many who have participated in these thrilling voyages, the best part of all was looking back toward home.--exhibit signage, Looking at Earth

This is a de Havilland DH-4 that "played many roles in both military and civilian capacities.  In addition to its bombing activities in World War I, the DH-4 was an observation and photo-reconnaissance aircraft."

 This is a U-2 spy plane.  I didn't live through the Cold War, but I've heard the story of Gary Powers being shot down as well as many successful U-2 missions.

Here you can see where a portion of the ceiling was cut away for the plane's tail.

This is the U-2's camera.  I found the little sticker the most interesting as it gives similar advice to what I've been given regarding telescope cleaning: "DO NOT TOUCH or attempt to clean MIRROR"

The U-2 B camera has a 36-inch focal length and can resolve features as small as .75 meters (2.5 feet) from an altitude of 19.5 kilometers (65,000 feet).--exhibit signage

The stereo photography exhibit was pretty neat.  My parents have a stereoscope and I grew up looking at old images.

This portable darkroom was very neat.  I'd never thought about having such an urgent need for pictures that you would develop the pictures before the plane landed.

This display shows the joint Apollo-Soyuz test project.

 I find the Soviet materials interesting--especially since I know CCCP is the Cyrillic version of USSR.

 Near the entrance was a slice of moon rock in a case for people to touch.  It took me a while to get Abigail to spread her fingers out, but I managed to get her to touch the rock.  I know she won't remember the experience, but I look forward to telling her about things like this when she is older.

I was glad to see this small Star Trek display in the giftshop!

We actually only went around part of the first floor and never went any higher in the building.  We knew that there were a couple other places we wanted to see--so we headed to the Metro station shortly after I bought some postcards.

~Matt