Armstrong Air and Space Museum

Armstrong Air and Space Museum

Wapakoneta, Ohio          High 86 Low 71

It was warmer today with thundershowers forecast for this evening. It was windy all day.

We went to the Armstrong Air and Space Museum. We are only a mile from it.

The Museum is named after Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut to set foot on the moon. He was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio August 5, 1930. The Museum tells about his early life but also give a history of the early space race between Russia and the United States in the late 1950s and 1960s.

The museum shares the story of Neil Armstrong, all Ohioans who have attempted to defy gravity, the Space Race, and current space exploration.  The museum itself is designed to resemble a futuristic moon base. It is most beautiful when viewed at dusk.

The museum features many one-of-a-kind artifacts including the Gemini VIII spacecraft, Neil Armstrong’s Gemini and Apollo spacesuits, and an Apollo 11 moon rock. The museum is also home to two full-size aircraft, both of which were flown by Mr. Armstrong. A 15-year-old Armstrong learned to fly at Port Koneta, a long-gone Wapakoneta airfield. He flew a yellow Aeronca Champion now on exhibit at the museum.

This is no static museum; it is filled with motion and sound. There are seven interactive exhibits, ten audio/visual elements, and three simulators. Visitors can practice landing the lunar module and space shuttle, or docking the Gemini capsule, as Neil Armstrong did in 1966. Adults will find the simulators just as challenging and entertaining as the kids do. The 56-foot dome in the center of the museum houses the Astro Theater, a unique venue that allows guests to enjoy the night sky or watch the 25-minute documentary about Apollo 11’s lunar landing. There is no additional charge for the simulators or the film.

Neil Armstrong was a fighter pilot who later joined the race to set foot on the moon. One display shows the requirements to be an astronaut which were later change to not over 6 feet tall and not over 35 years old.

We got to see one of the moon rocks that were collected on the first lunar landing and a piece of the meteor that carved out meteor crater in Arizona.

There is a replica of Sputnik, the first Russian artificial satellite.

We got to watch a movie about Apollo 11, and the first steps on the moon. When the lunar lander, Eagle, landed it had less than 30 seconds of fuel remaining.  

 Interestingly, dehydrated and freeze dried food was developed first for the space program.

 Coke and Pepsi developed ways to drink their beverages in a zero gravity environment.

It was an interesting Museum to see.

Thanks for visiting.