That means making sure everyone can see themselves in their stories.
鈥淵ou鈥檒l see stories, certainly, of Chuck Yeager,” the first person to go faster than the speed of sound, Browne said. But they’re also displaying the T-38 flown by Jackie Cochran, the first woman to break the sound barrier. 鈥淲hen she died, she held more records than any man alive,鈥� Browne said. “We’re amplifying the story.”
The human journey through space, including trips to the moon, are also well represented. There鈥檚 lunar capsules, rovers, and even giant F1 rocket engines you can stand under (before you could just stand next to them), giving you a new perspective of the ingenuity and effort needed to leave the earth鈥檚 atmosphere.
Some artifacts are on display for the first time in decades.
鈥淭his is a totally new imagining of the moon gallery,鈥� said Michael Neufeld, the senior curator of space history at the museum. 鈥淭he old moon gallery was done just after Apollo 鈥� we assumed everyone knew what was in there and had happened in Apollo. This gallery presents it for a public who grew up long after Apollo was over, wasn鈥檛 alive for the landing on the moon. We have to tell everybody the whole story of Apollo.鈥�
Just across the hall from that gallery is a new planetarium.
In addition, the Air and Space Museum will also have new family-friendly amenities. The bathrooms have been redone to include family bathrooms, and there are feeding rooms for new mothers, as well as quiet rooms when kids need a break. The caf茅 in the basement is Mars-themed and serves 鈥渂ird-safe鈥� coffee from Maryland-based Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company. There鈥檚 also a new, much larger, gift shop.
鈥淲e think that there will be something for everybody when they come here,鈥� said Browne. 鈥淎nd they鈥檒l want to come here more than once, I鈥檒l dare say.鈥�
See more photos below.
