Apollo Moon Stuff at the Air and Space Museum

We hadn’t been to the National Air and Space Museum for a while. It’s been under a major renovation over the last couple of years. Half of it is complete. So we thought we would get a timed pass and visit before the hoards of spring visitors arrive. The Wright Brothers exhibit is always interesting. The huge aircraft hanging above in the main gallery and elsewhere are mesmerizing. The uniforms of flight crews over the years are fun. But the main exhibit is the moon stuff. The huge rocket boosters are extraordinary. And the journey of space flight is phenomenal. Imagine being stuck in that tiny capsule of Alan Shepard and John Glenn. We finally had the chance to see Neil Armstrong’s space suit mixed in with Star Trek footage playing in the background. None of the huge items are here and the Spirit of St Louis must be in storage. The moon shoes were quite interesting. It used to be when we went to museums things were of a very distant past before we were born. Now, everything looks and sounds so familiar because we lived through all of this. We have slides that my dad took of the tv when the moon landing occurred back in the seventies. You can see how the products of the space program - like Velcro - revolutionized how we live. It’s good to be reminded of all of these accomplishments. But it’s scary to witness how fast time flies. 

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.