- three different airplane flight simulators-- all of which we managed to crash quite nicely, thank you)
- a huge IMAX theater
- the actual Apollo 12 Command Module that obited the moon 31 times in 61.6 hours
- a real rock from the moon
- a paper airplane flight lab, where you can test your engineering skills (ours are abysmal!)
- exhibits on weather and hurricanes (with lots of buttons and switches)
- Shuttle Landing Simulator (yes, we crashed that one too)
The Virginia Air and Space Museum celebrates 100 years of aviation history, taking you all the way from viewing a replica of the 1903 Wright flyer, to riding in a WWII bomber, to becoming an air traffic controller, to pretending you're an astronaut.
Our kids' #1 highlight is the huge AirTran Airways DC-9 fuselage that you can enter and explore. Most of the seats have been removed (it's surprisingly roomy without all those seats and passengers crammed in like sardines) to allow room for a Boeing 717 Simulator. Would-be pilots of all ages can try their hand at taking off and crashing...er, landing.
Toddlers and preschoolers-- never fear, there's a Little Wings play area just for you.
The Virginia Air & Space Museum has phenomenal traveling exhibits. A recent exhibit -- ZAP! Surgery Beyond the Cutting Edge -- was like being in a modern, high-tech remake of the B-movie "Amazing Voyage" where you're "injected" into a patient's body to see how Gamma Knife surgery works.
The current traveling exhibit -- Magic: the Science of Illusion" -- let's you pretend you're Houdini. Rise in the air on a floating chair...have a mentalist read your mind! Find out if your head can live without your body (not literally). You'll learn how basic science, math, psychology, culture and the art of performance can be used to in create a successful illusion through hands-on activities. The exhibit runs through the end of September.
The Virginia Air & Space Museum and its 3D IMAX, is open every day except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Admission gets complicated, depending on whether you're just seeing the exhibits, adding a regular IMAX movie, or adding a full-length IMAX Feature. For all the admission details on the family vacation getaway spot, plus info on the latest IMAX features, go to www.vasc.org.
BUT, you can save big and get in free to the Virginia Air and Space Museum (IMAX's are extra) if you're an ASTC Program member. What is ASTC?
Click here to find out and save.
The Virginia Air & Space Center is located on the historic Downtown Hampton Waterfront at 600 Settlers Landing Road - 757-727-0900.
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