Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

We hadn’t been to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum since the first half of the massive renovation was recently completed. Now the other half is underway. We used to walk by this place on our morning walks when we lived on Capitol Hill. So we decided to get timed entry passes and headed in to town. The first major section was all about Orville and Wilbur and the original flying machine. There was a large group of students who were obviously assigned a project to complete. We tried to stay ahead of them to avoid a crowd. Then it advanced to flying cars and current flight options. Outside in the main atrium were all sorts of planes hanging overhead with exhibits along the walls - mail carriers and flight attendant and pilot uniforms over the years. How these huge items are suspended from the ceiling is amazing. There were cockpits to view and interiors of planes to walk through. Another section was about the solar system and worldwide communications and satellites. Then there were the fast cars and bicycles featuring Richard Petty and Glenn Curtiss, along with a Chevrolet corvette. There were a few Star Trek items - including Mr Spock’s ears. The Apollo section deserves its own blog. What was missing were the Spirit of St Louis and a lot of the massive space vehicles that must be in storage for en next grand opening. We didn’t see everything but it’s nice to know it’s not far away if we ever feel like visiting again.