posted 03-10-2007 07:42 PM               

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Originally posted by spacecraft guy:
They spent most of their time in their own little cliques taking pictures of themselves, running through the exhibit halls pushing and shoving each other along without actually stopping to look at anything, and making a run for the McDonalds (ignoring the LM on the way in).

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So The Flight Line Cafeteria is gone? Aaargh...when I would spend time in DC years ago, it was a favorite spot to have lunch, among the aerospace exhibits...yes, it was still fast food, but had more ambience than I imagine a McDonalds has.

posted 03-10-2007 08:14 PM               

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Originally posted by Carrie:
...but had more ambience than I imagine a McDonalds has.

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...menu items from McDonald’s, Boston Market and Donatos Pizzeria. Cafe located upstairs offers coffee, pastries and assorted food items.

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posted 03-11-2007 01:44 AM            

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
I believe the Flight Line Cafe was the upstairs eating area. In any case, the decor has not dramatically changed and despite the difference in menu, I didn't notice a great contrast in ambiance or decor.

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posted 03-11-2007 03:59 AM            

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Originally posted by spaceman48263:
When I was at NASM in the fall with 50 8th graders they were not a band of hoods running around and I Didn't see any other gangs either. This was even on a cold rainy day in mid November!
Maybe the "hoods" were trying to get in the White House that day.
Not all kids go crazy in public. Try not to make general statements about all youth.

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Let's back up just a second, here.
No one called anyone "a bunch of hoods' or "gangs." You said it yourself in your earlier post - after about an hour, the kids had seen enough. What happens after that point is what I'm referring to. And I've had the unfortunate personal experience of dealing with groups of kids who have reached that point going through exhibits that I've produced, and behaved the same way - badly. I wanted to see if my experiences were unique, and thought that watching the vistors at the NASM would a good basis for comparison.

Some groups marched through the museum as quickly as possible, hit the basics, and then left, ASAP. Adults in the front of the group, adults in the back, no stragglers, every one stays in the group. These were few.

There were some groups that went through the museum at a comfortable pace, stopping to look at and appreciate what they were seeing, taking lots of pictures, some kids asking thoughtful questions or comparing a picture of an aircraft/spacecraft from a book they had brought to the actual version in front of them. Very, very few.

Most groups of kids (I'm guessing they were junior high schoolers)that went with their chaperones to see the the aircraft and spacecraft in the Milestones of Flight gallery, touched the moonrock, and then the kids were told to go see what they wanted and meet at the Info Desk in an hour. They would scatter at lightspeed and adopt the pattern that I mentioned earlier. These were the majority.

I wish it were otherwise. It's pretty much the same pattern that I see at the exhibits that I've produced. Parents that think that the "Don't Touch the Exhibits" signs apply to everyone else but their kid, or tell their kid not to touch something after he/she already has and damaged it, as if the fact that they say it after the fact gives them some sort of immunity from responsibility. When I get an artifact from NASA to display, I have to put it as far out of the reach of the public as possible, bolt it down and clad it in plexiglass, and still there would be some group of adolescents on their own with no adult supervision trying to jump up on a display. I've had kids of junior high age have no compunction about aiming the beam from a laser pointer into the eyes of my "explainers" demonstrating a flight helmet - and laughing about it with their friends. Or they would run through my exhibit in their cliques, knocking over little ones and tripping over strollers. I would have to have the Police remove them and call in their parents, and without exception they all screamed their lungs out at me that their kids would never do such a thing, and once I showed them doing it on the security tapes, would never apologize for their kids' behaviour or take responsibility for them and the damage they caused.

I've seen people who were going to come in (usually Mom, Dad, little one toddling along, one in stroller)who were coming in to see my exhibits stop at the doors, turn around and leave when they had these kids shove past them to get in.

posted 03-11-2007 04:12 AM            

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Originally posted by JasonIUP:
I was about to go today, but it sounds like I'll be walking into a ghetto. I would gladly pay $5 or $10 if that would serve as a way to keep away people who want to just overtake the place for something to do.

Free isn't always good.

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In order to present some really compelling exhibits, the NASM may eventually have to charge an admittance fee - they don't seem to be getting the money from Congress that they really need.

But if you have never visited the NASM, please go. And at this time of year, a great time is mid - week and in the early afternoon.

posted 03-11-2007 01:20 PM               

If you're going to do something, especially something like this museum, it should be done right. If $8 per person would make that happen, then it should be done. I don't think the museum should be mediocre just so ANYONE can walk in.

posted 03-11-2007 02:34 PM               

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Originally posted by JasonIUP:
I saw no videos of moon landings, interviews with astronauts, nothing signed, and not real LM. There was a knock-off that was never used.

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I am sure you saw "used" artifacts though, including Friendship 7, Gemini IV, Apollo 11's Columbia and X-15A-1 (one of only two in existence). You would be hard pressed to identify another museum where the quantity and quality of artifacts on display is rivaled...

posted 03-11-2007 03:24 PM               

(1) NASM (30+ visits): I can never see enough. . .always book an IMAX film first thing; some days I will gaze at the X-15 or Apollo 11 from the balcony; I enjoy looking into Friendship 7 but usually there is a crowd around; capsules abound; Russian artifacts; 3 different Wright aircraft; gliders; aviation science, experimation, and engineering for 100 years.

Dayton: huge aviation collection, several space capsules, and an upclose and personal X-15. . . close to the Neil Armstrong Museum in Wapokenata, too.

AHOF Museum in Titusville, FL: Several capsules, but the part I enjoy the most is seeing boyhood artifacts and memories of our astronauts. The AHOF is included in the KSC ticket which has great displays including the incredible Saturn V.

Sometimes NASM is not quite as exciting due to renovations but there is always something to think about.

NASM is truly my favorite museum and I am fortunate to be able to make regular visits. Next up are two astronaut lectures in May. I will share those visits with Pol and all my other cS friends.

posted 03-12-2007 09:01 AM               

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Originally posted by JasonIUP:
I ended up going yesterday, and I was rather unimpressed. Some of the little TV displays weren't working. I saw no videos of moon landings, interviews with astronauts, nothing signed, and not real LM. There was a knock-off that was never used.

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And if you would have looked next to the "not real/knock-off" LEM, you would have seen a video of Apollo 11... Or if you would have gone to Apollo to the Moon gallery, you would have seen a mock-up of the LEM< with video of Gene Cernan's and Jack Schmitt's view of the Apollo 17 landing, with their dialogue from that landing. Keep in mind that all though we are very interested in space and it's history, a good majority of people in the museum could not even tell you Neil Armstrong as the 1st man on the moon, nonetheless any of the other 11. As a docent at NASM, you'd be surprised at some questions we get. Next to "where's the bathrooms?", one of the most frequent questions I get, is re: the Lockheed Vega, "Is this the plane that Amelia Earhart was lost in?"...