Located directly on the Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol, the National Air and Space Museum was one of the most visited museums in the world before the corona pandemic. In 2018 alone, 6.2 million visitors were counted. But more than 40 years after the opening in July 1976, a thorough renovation was due, not least to repair and improve the outdated and vulnerable building services. A complete renewal of the exterior cladding is also planned. In addition, the Bezos Learning Center will be built on the east side. It will offer programs and activities that inspire students to pursue innovations and pursue careers in STEAM fields (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) and will help teachers make better use of the Smithsonian Institution’s diverse collections . The Bezos Learning Center is part of Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon and Blue Origin) $200 million donation – the largest donation to the Smithsonian since the institution was founded in 1846.
Smithsonian
It’s no longer just about exhibiting iconic aircraft, but delighting audiences with polished presentations that will be remembered for a long time.
A costly conversion
The $360 million renovation will be carried out in phases and is expected to encompass all 23 of the museum’s “galleries” and presentation rooms by 2025. Last fall, the first eight galleries in the west wing of the building reopened. “We are very pleased to finally unveil the first part of the newly renovated museum,” said Chris Browne, the museum’s director. “We hope that every visitor will find themselves in these exhibitions and that young people will be inspired by all that is possible in aerospace.”
Interactive Highlights
The makeover has seen the exhibits “use creative and dynamic techniques to engage visitors during their stay in the museum and after they leave. Rather than simply presenting information to visitors, the exhibits offer opportunities to engage people through nearly 100… to include interactive and digital experiences,” according to the museum. Highlights include a tour of the solar system, where visitors can experience what it would be like to walk on another world at the Kenneth C. Griffin Exploring the Planets Gallery. At the One World Connected exhibit, visitors can look through a model of the dome of the International Space Station (ISS) to experience the ISS astronauts’ view of Earth.
Smithsonian
Memories of the “Star Wars” films are not directly related to aviation, but are probably intended to attract a wide audience.
New Treasures
Hundreds of new artifacts are on display in the renovated museum, such as the WR-3 Air Racer owned by Neal Loving, the first African American to be licensed for air racing, a T-38 flown by Jackie Cochran, the first woman to fly the breaking the sound barrier, and Sean Tucker’s custom-built aerobatic biplane, the Aviation Specialties Unlimited Challenger III. Visitors will see popular, historically valuable exhibits in a new setting. In the same gallery as the Apollo 11 Command Module, Alan Shepard’s Mercury space suit and the Mercury Freedom 7 capsule he has flown are on display in Washington for the first time since 2015. The original 1903 Wright Flyer is now on display in a dynamic new setting that better tells the story of the invention of flight and its impact on world history. Also new is something not directly related to aviation: the X-Wing Full-size Starfighter featured in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’, on loan from Lucasfilm, and a pair of plastic ears that Leonard Nimoy once wore for his role as Mr. Spock in the original ‘StarTrek’ series. Meanwhile, the planetarium has significantly improved its technical capabilities and offers new screencast functions that allow connection to planetariums across the country.
It’s still worth checking out the National Air and Space Museum, especially since entry is free. And if you want to see more aircraft, you can drive to Dulles Airport, where the 71,000 square meter Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center offers a stunning variety of historically significant aircraft including the space shuttle.
2023-07-09 07:11:11
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