goSmithsonian - June 2008 - (Page 20)

SIGHTSEEING Open Top Sightseeing Washington Book onlin save and e mon ey www.opentopsightseeing.com 877-332-8689 Hop On Hop Off 2 days unlimited rides 25 stops throughout Washington DC Smithsonian stops: Air & Space, Natural History, and Smithsonian Metro Station World War I-era Jennys (above, in the exhibition “America by Air”) were the first aircraft to be used in regular service by the U.S. Post Office. “Golden Age of Flight” (105): Learn the stories of record-breaking aviators like Roscoe Turner, Amelia Earhart and Jimmie Doolittle, who thrilled audiences with their derring-do in the period between the two world wars. The centerpiece here is the Hughes H-1 racer, in which Howard Hughes recorded world speed records in 1935 and 1937. “Jet Aviation Gallery” (106): In 1939, a pioneering type of aircraft engine developed by a German engineer ushered in a new age in aviation. Don’t miss two jet-age milestones, the German Messerschmitt Me 262 and the Lockheed XP-80 Lulu Belle. “Early Flight” (107): See the world’s first military airplane, the 1909 Wright Military Flyer, and the 1894 Lilienthal glider. “How Things Fly” (109): Dozens of kid-friendly interactive gadgets teach the four principles of flight—weight, lift, thrust and drag. Activities abound: find out your weight on the moon, hop into the cockpit of a Cessna, or learn to make an award-winning paper airplane. “Looking at Earth” (110): Study the ingenious ways humans have struggled to better view the planet. See a tiny 1903 camera that could be strapped to a pigeon, as well as the Cold War era’s U-2 spy plane. “Explore the Universe” (111): Examine technology used to peer farther and farther into the cosmos, from antique astrolabes to today’s telescopes. “Space Race” (114): Agiant black-and-white V-2 rocket marks the entrance to the gallery, home to a spectacular collection of rare items from the earliest days of human space exploration, including Yuri Gagarin’s and John Glenn’s spacesuits. SECOND FLOOR “Sea-Air Operations” (203): Come aboard the quarterdeck of the fictitious USS Smithsonian. As a member of the crew, watch aircraft take off and land from the deck, and learn the history of ship-based flight. www.goSmithsonian.com One full tour lasts 2 hours Best View Comfortable seats Air Conditioning Brand new buses Adults $32 – Children (4 to 15 years) $16 (Children under 4 ride free) Buy your ticket onboard the tour bus, at your hotel or online and save money http://www.opentopsightseeing.com http://www.opentopsightseeing.com http://www.goSmithsonian.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of goSmithsonian - June 2008

goSmithsonian - June 2008 Contents Visitor Information Smithsonian Institution Building—The Castle The S. Dillon Ripley International Gallery Dining Guide Donald W. Reynolds Center Smithsonian American Art Museum National Portrait Gallery National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Discovery Theater, SITES, Folklife Festival and more National Museum of American History Map of the National Mall National Museum of Natural History National Museum of the American Indian Arthur M. Sackler Gallery/Asian Art Freer Gallery of Art/Asian and American Art Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden/Contemporary and Modern Art National Museum of African Art Renwick Gallery/American Art National Postal Museum Anacostia Community Museum National Zoological Park

goSmithsonian - June 2008

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