Wells Fargo Free First Thursday
Thursday, Aug. 5, 5 – 9 p.m.
Once a month, the Museum stays open late-for free! Enjoy the Museum’s Great Gallery, Personal Courage Wing, Space: Exploring the New Frontier exhibit and more from 5 to 9 p.m., courtesy of Wells Fargo. Museum Store and Wings Café will also remain open for the extended hours on this night.
Blue Angels Week
Thursday, Aug. 5 – Sunday, August 8
The world-famous U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration team star in the Boeing Air Show at Seafair’s Albert Lee Cup hydroplane races. The Museum of Flight is again Blue Angels’ headquarters during the team’s entire Seafair stay. Blue Angels family activities will be featured all week, with events inside and outside of the Museum. The Museum hours will be extended–opening one hour earlier–Friday Aug. 6 through Sunday, August 8 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Indoor programs are free with Museum admission.
Museum visitors will be able see the jets up close from Thursday, Aug. 5 through Sunday, August 8. Activities include the team’s precise pre-flight walkdowns, thrilling formation takeoffs and the chance to meet some of the Navy’s finest pilots as they return from their practice sessions and show performances.
Bank of America Weekend Family Workshop – “Blue Angels Mania!”
August 6, 7, 8, Noon to 3 p.m., Side Gallery
We’ve got the blues…but we’re happy about it! Once again the spectacular Blue Angels are visiting Seattle and The Museum of Flight. In celebration, all Blues fans are invited to stop by the Museum’s activity area to make fabulous Blue Angels souvenirs.
“Sled Driver” – Lecture & Book Signing with Blackbird Pilot Brian Shul
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Aug. 6 – 8, 2 p.m., William M. Allen Theater
Photographer, author, pilot and showman Brian Shul shares stories and photos from his experience as a “sled driver”–an SR-71 Blackbird pilot. The presentation is based upon his book, “Sled Driver,” which features Shul’s dazzling photography and insightful prose to illustrate what it is like to fly the world’s fastest, highest-flying jet, the SR-71 Blackbird. Shul’s program includes riveting accounts of Mach 3 runs over hostile territory and star gazing at 80,000 feet. This marks the eighteenth year Shul has appeared at the Museum during Blue Angels week. Shul has also traveled the airshow circuit with the Blue Angels for his book “Blue Angels: A Portrait of Gold.” The program is free with admission to the Museum.
“Charles E. Taylor – The World’s First Aircraft Mechanic”
Lecture and Book Signing by Peter Unitt
Saturday, August 14, 2:00 p.m., William M. Allen Theater
This insightful program by author Peter Unitt looks at the man who put the power into the Wright Brothers first powered flight–Charlie Taylor. Taylor was a skilled machinist who helped the Wrights run their bicycle shop at the Wright Cycle Company in Dayton, Ohio. After failing to find an adequate manufacturer for the motor for their first powered aircraft, the Wrights called on Taylor to assist in designing and building an engine. He made the 12-horsepower engine in six weeks. Taylor stayed with the Wrights for years devising bigger and better engines. Unitt will sign copies of his book, “An American Original – Charlie Taylor. The program is free with admission to the Museum.
Bank of America Weekend Family Workshop: “Helicopters!”
August 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29, 11:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m., Side Gallery
Did you know Leonardo da Vinci had an idea for a machine like a helicopter? Join us as we learn about these amazing flying machines. Then construct several helicopter models of your own.
“To Infinity and Beyond! The Hubble Space Telescope and the Space Shuttle”
Lecture with NASA Solar System Ambassador Dr. Ron Hobbs
Saturday, August 28, 2:00 p.m., William M. Allen Theater
NASA Solar System Ambassador Dr. Ron Hobbs will provide an overview of the development, launch and orbital refurbishment of the best known telescope in history–the Hubble Space Telescope. He will also talk about the Space Transportation System that made it all possible. The lecture will highlight the most important findings made by the 20-year-old space telescope.
The NASA Solar System Ambassadors Program is a public outreach program designed to work with motivated volunteers across the nation. These volunteers communicate the excitement of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory space exploration missions, and they provide information about recent discoveries to people in their local communities.
The non-profit Museum of Flight is one of the largest independent air and space museums in the world. The Museum’s collection includes more than 150 historically significant air- and spacecraft, as well as the William E. Boeing Red Barn® – the original manufacturing facility of the Boeing Co. The J. Elroy McCaw Personal Courage Wing displays 28 World War I and World War II aircraft from the United States and other countries including Germany, Russia, and Japan. Over 30 aircraft representing the first century of aviation are displayed in the all-glass T.A. Wilson Great Gallery. The evolution of space flight and a look into the future are presented in the exhibit, Space: Exploring the New Frontier. The Airpark includes outdoor displays including the first jet Air Force One, a supersonic Concorde airliner and the prototype Boeing 747 jumbo jet. Interactive displays in The Flight Zone provide educational and entertaining activities for young children. The Museum’s aeronautical library and archival holdings are the largest on the West Coast. More than 140,000 students are served annually by the Museum’s on-site and outreach educational programs–the most extensive museum-based youth aviation and space education program in the country. The Museum is the only air and space museum in Washington State that is both nationally accredited with the American Association of Museums and a Smithsonian affiliate.
The Museum of Flight is located at 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle, Exit 158 off Interstate 5 on Boeing Field half-way between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport. The Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors 65 and older, $10 for active military, $8 for youth 5 to 17, and free for children under 5. Group rates are available. Admission on the first Thursday of the month is free from 5 to 9 p.m. courtesy of Wells Fargo. For general Museum information, please call 206-764-5720
www.museumofflight.org