You Really Need to See the Movie First

Where: National Air and Space Museum

When: closing May 28, 2018

The title of this post could easily be: "What if They Gave a Blockbuster and Nobody Came?" but that's awfully long.  It is, however, an excellent description of this recreation of the penultimate scene in "2001: A Space Odyssey."

In checking the Smithsonian website for details of current exhibits, I saw this one required advance tickets.  Since I tend to head out when I have time, making plans can be an issue, and so it was with a grumble in my heart that I signed up for a time and headed over.

Expecting to see a long line, imagine my surprise to be greeted with...nothing.  No lines, no wait, no one checking my ticket.  I just walked right up, put on the foot covers necessary to walk into the recreation, and that was that.  I was reminded of the time I needed tickets to see an original Leonardo da Vinci notebook they had on display some years back.  Ticket in hand, I walked over to the museum, and walked right in, no muss, no fuss.  They don't seem able to judge what will be popular and what will not.

I dutifully walked around the "room" and noted all the details.  Never having seen the movie this is meant to recreate, I am in no position to say if they've done a good job or not.   And, in fact, if you've not seen the movie (and I realize I may be a minority of one here), don't bother seeing this, as the grandeur will be lost on you as well.

Verdict: If ever I watch "2001,"  I'll be in a better position to tell you what I think of this.

Making an Artistic Virtue of Necessity

Where: Air and Space Museum

When: through November 30, 2016

I'm not a big fan of the Air and Space Museum, as long time readers of this blog already know.  A little goes a long way, is my view of rocket ships, and the cacophony of young boys running and screaming does nothing to add to my experience.

Every so often, the museum does put on an art display, and I head over to the "big box of noise."  This one focused on the artistic qualities of air traffic control towers.  Sounds unlikely, I know, but, quoting from the wall notes, "...there is beauty in the prosaic, if one only has the eye to see it."  Very true, and it's a lot better for your psyche to look for the beautiful than feel overwhelmed by the ugly.

Fun facts: FDR chose the site for National Airport, JFK is one of only two airports in North America with direct flights to all six inhabited continents and Arlanda Airport in Stockholm doubles as a wedding location.

Verdict: If you can take the hustle and bustle, it's a mildly interesting display.

Outside the Spacecraft: 50 Years of Extra-Vehicular Activity

Where: National Air and Space Museum

When: through June 8, 2015

It's one thing to get into a rocket and go into outer space; it's another to leave your rocket and really go into outer space.  This show is about the latter trip, which is described as "spacefaring" and more like swimming than walking.  You can see lots of equipment, from the early days of space travel to modern day suits.

It's a journey that has its dangers.  As the wall notes remind visitors, the human body is not designed to be in space.  You need a source of oxygen and a tether to the ship, plus space is both terribly cold and gets very direct sunlight, so astronauts need thick gloves to protect their hands.  The problem with thick gloves is that they don't allow very much movement of the fingers, which is usually necessary for whatever work takes the crew out of the ship.

At first, astronauts could only be outside of the ship for minutes at a time.  Now, they can be out for hours, conducting experiments, repairing equipment, and enjoying the view.

This show is in the "Flight and the Arts" room on the 2nd floor, and in addition to many photographs, there are also several paintings of EVA (extra-vehicular activity, which I can't help but think sounds like something you'd put on a college application).  I was happy to see an Alan Bean among the offerings; I saw a show of his work here several years ago.

Verdict: Air and Space was fairly empty last week when I stopped by.  I suppose this is a lull, between family trips at the holidays and school trips in the Spring.  If you're in the area, you might want to come now.  Also, the Spirit of St. Louis is currently sitting on the floor by the Mall entrance door, so you can have a much better look than usual.

Hawaii by Air

Where: National Air and Space Museum

When: through July 2015

Hawai'i is one of the most remote places on earth.  If you look at a map, it's in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, many hours flight, even from the West Coast of the United States.  There are 120 islands in the chain, which is far more than I realized.  In addition to the major islands that make up most people's vacation itinerary, there are numerous smaller atolls and islets.

People have been traveling to Hawai'i for hundreds of years, mostly by water.  Although it was originally used by sailors as a way station, some visitors went purely for pleasure, including, in 1866, Mark Twain, who fell in love with the islands and included a description of them in his book Roughing It.  In 1898, the United States annexed the islands and the number of visitors increased.  In the 1920s wealthy travelers took luxury liners to see the sights, and Waikiki Beach became a tourist destination.  For those who couldn't make the journey, Hawai'i came to American homes via a radio show called "Hawai'i Calls," which featured island music.

Flying clipper ships replaced ocean liners, and passengers traveled to the islands in first class - the only class there was.  After World War II, more airlines were able to fly to Hawai'i, and the trip became both faster and cheaper.  Now, it's hard to think of Hawai'i as remote, as so many people have made the trip.

The display is informative and well done; I was delighted to see several signs directing visitors both to other exhibits at Air and Space, as well as to other displays on the Mall.  Finally, a little cross-referencing!  Was that so hard?  One can only hope that other museums will pick up on this idea.

As much as Air and Space is not my favorite museum, I have seen some intriguing shows there, and happily, this one was located on the west side of the first floor, which is much less crowded than other parts of the building.

Verdict: If you're at all interested in Hawai'i or the history of travel generally, have a look at this small show - easily managed in a lunch hour.

AirCraft: The Jet as Art

Where: National Air and Space Museum

When: through November 25, 2012

Jeffrey Milstein, a photographer, stands at the end of airport runways and photographs planes from below as they are landing, at speeds of up to 175 miles per hour.  A hair-raising way to create art, but the results can't be disputed.  Although I view airplanes more as modes of transportation than as objects for artistic creation, these images are lovely, and the photography is stunning.  Plus, I learned something new, which makes up for my having to go to the Air and Space Museum.  A photographic typology is a collection of images on the same topic.  Apparently, the first ones were of industrial architecture, but the subjects have expanded in the years since this began.  Milstein gives us a photograph typology of airplanes, including one that I identified (correctly) as a Southwest Airlines jet (remember, you're looking at these from the bottom, so the identifying insignia is not visible) and one that seemed to have the flag of Maryland on it.  I saw another image of this plane, which was identified as Maryland One, so I was right about that as well.  Is this the governor's plane?  I'm guessing that's the case; I never thought about the governor of Maryland needing a plane before...  The comment next to the typology compares these images to pinned butterflies, and that's a good analogy.  Showing them all together makes it easier to compare and contrast one's "specimens."

Verdict: A nice small show - easily managed in a lunch hour, even with the inevitable crowds at Air and Space.

Beyond the Limits: Flight Enters the Computer Age

Where: National Museum of Air and Space

When: through May 2011

Full confession, Air and Space is not my favorite museum. It's very crowded year-round, and most of the people there are small, screaming boys. Spaceships and rockets hold little interest for me; I know that it's an amazing achievement for human beings to leave Earth and explore outer space, but I just can't get worked up over seeing how that happens.

This exhibit has not changed my mind about either space flight or the Air and Space Museum, but if that sort of thing appeals to you, by all means have at it.

The show seems quite dated, and I looked it up online later and found out it opened in 1989. I can only imagine the curators are taking it down to modernize it a bit - it needs it! The development of the space program and the development of computers went hand in hand; it really does astonish me that the flight to the moon was possible with the archaic computer technology available in the 1960s. As the exhibit states, there was a time when a computer was a person who added numbers; that person was usually a woman who had been a math major, and while the men got to do drawings of space ships, the women handled the calculations.

I did enjoy seeing the movie poster from "Dr. Strangelove" in the section on airborne invasion - not sure how much that poster will resonate with young visitors today.

The exhibit, although in need of sprucing up, was quite popular, and I had to make my way through a large crowd - probably due to the flashing lights over the entrance.

Verdict: Air and Space is the only museum which makes me think with fondness of the Hirshhorn, so I can't recommend going there for anything less than a top-notch show. On the other hand, when they put up another exhibit in this space, it will be interesting to see how it has changed.

Beyond: Visions of our Solar System

Where: National Air and Space Museum

When: through May 2, 2011

This is a beautiful exhibit - the photographs of the planets (and other objects in the solar system) are stunning. This show focuses exclusively on the pictures of outer space, and not on the technology that created the photographs, which is fine with me. I find "rocket science" boring, so the fact that there was none of it was a plus in my book.

There were a lot of little pieces of information along with the photos in the exhibit, and I'm now much more informed about other planets than I was when I entered. The Great Lakes make up 22% of the Earth's fresh water, for instance, and the sun constitutes 99.8% of the mass of the solar system. I also found out that Venus is actually hotter than Mercury due to the cloud cover that traps heat on the planet. Mercury, which I had always thought of as a red planet, actually looks like our moon, but larger. Mars (the actual red planet) is red due to the iron deposits in its deserts. It reminded me of the soil on Prince Edward Island, which is also red and full of iron. Martian desert landscapes are quite similar in appearance to deserts on Earth - not that either one seems terribly hospitable... And who knew there should have been a planet between Mars and Jupiter, instead of the asteroid belt that exists there?

Jupiter's Red Spot is twice the size of Earth - it's really hard to conceive of something so enormous, particularly when you think that it's merely a spot on the biggest planet in the solar system. Saturn is gorgeous, rings and all, no surprise there. The photos of Uranus and Neptune were a lovely shade of blue, and Uranus has faint rings around it - although they get none of the attention of Saturn's much larger rings. Of course, there were no pictures of Pluto - eventually, no one will even remember it was a planet! Oh well, science moves on, and we must move with it.

Verdict: if you have time on Monday, check this out. It's not as crowded as some of the more spaceship-oriented exhibits at the Museum, and the photography is stunning.