Virginia Air & Space Center, Hampton, Virginia, 100 Years of Flight History

The Virginia Air & Space Center, located in Hampton, Virginia, first opened to the public in April 1992. The 110,000 square foot museum is housed in nine stories and is the visitor center for both NASA Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base.

The exhibits at the museum cover all aspects of air travel over the past 100 years. Here is a sampling of the exhibits.

Adventures in Flight Gallery

This exhibit covers the history of flight starting with the December day in 1903 when the Wright brothers completed their first flight in North Carolina. In addition to the hands-on portions of this exhibit, such as the chance for visitors to try and "wing-walk'' on a replica of a Jenny bi-plane, guests of the museum will also be able to see life size historical flight machines including the one used by the Wright brothers, and AirTran Airways DC-9, which can be explored both inside and out, and nearly 30 others.

Space Gallery

The Space Gallery features both hands-on exhibits as well as authentic items related to space travel. Visitors can take a ride to Mars in the Mars Transporter simulator, observe rocks from both the moon and from Mars and get a close up look at the actual Apollo 12 Command Module and even get a feel of what space travel is like for astronauts visiting the moon by taking a ride on the Lunar Landing Simulator. Visitors can also see the actual Lunar Excursion Module Simulator that was used to train astronauts including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Visitors can also see an exhibit that highlights those who live in space on space stations and take a trip through time at the Time Machine exhibit.

Many of the exhibits at the Virginia Air & Space Museum have a hands-on aspect to them including three flight simulators and even a space shuttle landing simulator. In addition to the permanent exhibits, the museum features and IMAX theater and a variety of traveling exhibits as well.

Past traveling exhibits include Magic: The Science of Illusion, ZAP! Surgery Beyond the Cutting Edge and RISK: A Crash Course in Risk Management.

There are special programs and events throughout the year. Some of these have included the chance to meet an astronaut in person or participate in the ongoing Cosmic Kid's Club. Members of the Cosmic Kid's Club pay an annual fee and then are able to participate in monthly special events - just for club members - each with a different theme.

Visitors like the variety in the exhibits as well as the hands-on features and special play are (Little Wings) designed especially for the youngest museum visitors.

When planning a visit check for updated exhibit and pricing information.