Air & Space Museum

I'm going to be in Washington for a few days next month. I have
limited time and would like some opinions re the two Air & Space Museum
sites -- at the Mall vs at Dulles. Since I won't have time to do both
sites, which would be the better. We will have a couple of kids with us
also.
Thanks for any input.
DCMacLean

DCMacLean wrote:
I'm going to be in Washington for a few days next month. I have
limited time and would like some opinions re the two Air & Space Museum
sites -- at the Mall vs at Dulles. Since I won't have time to do both
sites, which would be the better. We will have a couple of kids with us
also.
Thanks for any input.
DCMacLean
What interests you more?
X-1? Voyager? Skylab mocckup? Missles? go downtown.
Space shuttle? Boeing 707? Concorde? Go to Dulles.

Michelle

In article ,
DCMacLean wrote:

I'm going to be in Washington for a few days next month. I have
limited time and would like some opinions re the two Air & Space Museum
sites -- at the Mall vs at Dulles. Since I won't have time to do both
sites, which would be the better. We will have a couple of kids with us
also.
Thanks for any input.
DCMacLean

If you are going to be in DC proper, go to the NASM in the Mall. It is
well worth the effort. The Udvar Hazy Museum is great, also, as it has
on display the big stuff that the downtown museum could not display.

My take: strawberry vs chocolate ice cream.

DCMacLean wrote:
I'm going to be in Washington for a few days next month. I have
limited time and would like some opinions re the two Air & Space Museum
sites -- at the Mall vs at Dulles. Since I won't have time to do both
sites, which would be the better. We will have a couple of kids with us
also.



I've been to both of them and don't really have a preference... both are great.
I'd suggest you go to the one you can get to the easiest. If you're staying in
the District, go to the mall. Otherwise, Dulles is a lot easier to get to from
outside.

And if you ever get to make a trip by yourself, go visit Suitland, MD and check
out the Silver Hill facility where they do all the refurbishing. It's right off
Route 5 between DC and Marlow Heights.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 03:38:19 GMT, Orval Fairbairn
wrote:

In article ,
DCMacLean wrote:

I'm going to be in Washington for a few days next month. I have
limited time and would like some opinions re the two Air & Space Museum
sites -- at the Mall vs at Dulles. Since I won't have time to do both
sites, which would be the better. We will have a couple of kids with us
also.
Thanks for any input.
DCMacLean

If you are going to be in DC proper, go to the NASM in the Mall. It is
well worth the effort. The Udvar Hazy Museum is great, also, as it has
on display the big stuff that the downtown museum could not display.

My take: strawberry vs chocolate ice cream.

The thing about the mall is: you walk in, you look up, and there's
NX-211.

It does something to your knees.

Don

DCMacLean wrote:

I'm going to be in Washington for a few days next month. I have
limited time and would like some opinions re the two Air & Space Museum
sites -- at the Mall vs at Dulles. Since I won't have time to do both
sites, which would be the better. We will have a couple of kids with us
also.

By coincidence, I was just at both of them this past Sunday. Dulles had
some cool planes but all of them were way way way too clean. it looked
like every plane was re-painted yesterday and hand polished every day.
The one on the Mall was a bit better. They weren't about to repaint the
X15 or the SpaceShipOne. Seeing both of them gave me goosebumps.
Seeing some of the actual fabric and the broken propeller from the
Wright Flyer covered my entire body in goosebumps (I got my pilots
license the same day, 12/17/03...mine was 2003 though). I'd definitely
go for the mall. in all honesty though, the Museum of Flight in seattle
was better and in some ways the Pima Museum was better too even though
both don't have so many famous airplanes.

Gerald

"GS" wrote in message
...
[...] in all honesty though, the Museum of Flight in seattle was better
and in some ways the Pima Museum was better too even though both don't
have so many famous airplanes.

Ack! (And I mean that in a Bloom County Opus way)

I love the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, and of course with the Museum
of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle being practically in my back yard I
encourage any good words anyone has to say about it.

But better than the NASM?

Sorry, can't agree. I've seen similar statements made about the Dayton Air
Force Museum, and at least there I can see the point (even if I disagree).
But Pima and MoF just don't compare. The NASM has a breadth AND depth that
is unmatched, and at the Mall there are excellent side-exhibits (including a
most-awesome art gallery, and of course various art pieces throughout, along
with the planetarium and IMAX theater).

Besides, the NASM is the only place you can see "To Fly!". Frankly, that
alone would be the reason to see the original Mall site first, if you've
never been to either. Dulles will be there later, with all of its great
artifacts as well.

Pete

"Peter Duniho" wrote in
:



Besides, the NASM is the only place you can see "To Fly!". Frankly,
that alone would be the reason to see the original Mall site first, if
you've never been to either. Dulles will be there later, with all of
its great artifacts as well.

Pete




"To Fly!" is available in VHS. A quick search found it at eBay and
Amazon.com. At one time there was also a LaserDisc version. I do not
recall ever seing a DVD version.

--
Marty Shapiro
Silicon Rallye Inc.

(remove SPAMNOT to email me)

GS wrote:
By coincidence, I was just at both of them this past Sunday.

There is enough stuff in either to keep you busy for two or three days
each. How did you manage to do both in one day?

On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 21:05:26 -0500, DCMacLean
wrote:

I'm going to be in Washington for a few days next month. I have
limited time and would like some opinions re the two Air & Space Museum
sites -- at the Mall vs at Dulles. Since I won't have time to do both
sites, which would be the better. We will have a couple of kids with us
also.

For a hard-core aviation nut, no question that the Udvar Hazy annex is
the place to be. But if you can do only the one, then I think you're
better off at the main musuem on the Mall. This is the most visited
museum in the world, and not only because it offers an air-conditioned
respite from DC in summer. It's much more of a theme park, while the
U-H annex is basically a hangar full of warbirds and important *types*
of civilian planes. There's an Imax both places, with kids and adults
queueing up for it, but the kids likely will enjoy even more the WWI
airfield and the aircraft carrier deck at the Mall museum. The
galleries are designed for visitors instead of being limited to
walkways. There's a full-bore food facility (just box lunches at U-H,
at least when I was there). And of course you can move on to another
museum when the kids tire of it, whereas at U-H you are in "edge city"
as it is called, endless motels and business parks and no sidewalks.

Either way, an experience not to be missed.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email: usenet AT danford DOT net

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