I used to visit the National Air and Space Museum in the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It is one of my favorite museums in the Mall. I have visited it many times. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly was the one that I had dreamed of visiting for years, especially when the Space Shuttle Discovery has been displayed on-site since April 19, 2012.
It is part of Smithsonian Institution that has 19 museums and galleries. Most of the museums and Galleries are in D.C. metropolitan area. Due to the limited space for displaying large aviation and space artifacts in the original National Air and Space Museum, the Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport was opened in 2003 to meet the demand. There are hundreds of objects, including aircrafts, spacecrafts, engines, rockets, uniforms, spacesuits, balloons and artwork. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the 707, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, Grumman F-14D(R) Tomcat, the Concorde - first supersonic airliner and the latest new addition – Space Shuttle Discovery are on display. The museum consists of the Boeing Aviation Hangar and the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar. The entrance is on the second level where the Welcome Center, IMAX Theater, Museum Store and McDonalds are located. The museum is free, but you need to pay for parking.
If you are an engineer like me, you will love this museum. We enjoyed seeing many items that were in movies and reports. There are 2 Free Docent-led tours daily at 10:30 am and 1:00 pm. You can get a pretty good background of the displays, and it is worth it if that fits your schedule. If you have time and the line is not too long, you should visit the Donald D. Engen Tower - an observation tower with a good view of Washington Dulles International Airport, which shows you how the U.S. air traffic control system works.
It is part of Smithsonian Institution that has 19 museums and galleries. Most of the museums and Galleries are in D.C. metropolitan area. Due to the limited space for displaying large aviation and space artifacts in the original National Air and Space Museum, the Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport was opened in 2003 to meet the demand. There are hundreds of objects, including aircrafts, spacecrafts, engines, rockets, uniforms, spacesuits, balloons and artwork. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the 707, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, Grumman F-14D(R) Tomcat, the Concorde - first supersonic airliner and the latest new addition – Space Shuttle Discovery are on display. The museum consists of the Boeing Aviation Hangar and the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar. The entrance is on the second level where the Welcome Center, IMAX Theater, Museum Store and McDonalds are located. The museum is free, but you need to pay for parking.
If you are an engineer like me, you will love this museum. We enjoyed seeing many items that were in movies and reports. There are 2 Free Docent-led tours daily at 10:30 am and 1:00 pm. You can get a pretty good background of the displays, and it is worth it if that fits your schedule. If you have time and the line is not too long, you should visit the Donald D. Engen Tower - an observation tower with a good view of Washington Dulles International Airport, which shows you how the U.S. air traffic control system works.
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James Huang - All rights reserved.
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