Neil Armstrong

Fresh arts/entertainment at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport

 A fresh program of live local art and entertainment offerings – “ArtsWave Presents” – begins today, March 16, at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) and continues on Friday afternoons through May.

Here’s what’s on tap for the next few weeks.  

·         2-3 PM: Friday, March 16: Northern Kentucky University Philharmonic

·         2-3 PMFriday, March 30: James McCray Choral Ensemble

·        More to come  Fridays: April 6April 20May 4May 25

CVG, which is currently undergoing a $6 million terminal modernization project, is also displaying a nice collection of items from the Cincinnati Museum Center, including the spacesuit of Neil Armstrong.

And, of course, this is the airport that has miniature therapy horses come visit with travelers.

(Replica) of Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit at CVG Airport

President Richard Nixon telling jokes to astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin

President Richard Nixon telling jokes to astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin while they were in the Mobile Quarantine Facility on the the USS Hornet after their return from the moon.

July 20 is the 47th anniversary of the 1969 moon landing and, to mark the event, the Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) is unveiling a replica of Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit at Cincinati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) as part of the museum’s Curate My Community project.

CVG SPACESUIT

“Today is a special day for the aviation industry,” said Candace McGraw, chief executive officer at CVG. “Neil Armstrong, like many of us, was fascinated with flight. We’re honored to partner with the Museum Center to display Neil’s spacesuit exhibit for CVG travelers and the community to continue to enjoy.”

On the evening of July 20, 1969, people gathered around their televisions to watch the grainy, black-and-white footage of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon in his puffy white spacesuit.

 

 

Rare aviation & space treasures on view in Seattle

Two rare, historic and rarely-seen documents relating to the history of aviation and the exploration of spare are on display at Seattle’s Museum of Flight through the end of May.

The first document is the original contract between Wilbur and Orville Wright and their creation, the Wright Company, in 1909. In the document, the brothers agree to transfer and assign to the Wright Company two U.S. patents that describe their successful flying machine.

Wilbur and Orville Wright signatures on Wright Company document.

The other document is the 1969 Apollo 11 Command Service Module Maneuver Card, which has Neil Armstrong’s and Buzz Aldrin’s most extensive flight notes from the first visit to the Moon.

Apollo 11 P30 Maneuver card.

Cool, right? Both papers are part of the museum’s permanent collection, but are rarely shown because of their value and fragility.

Hidden Treasures: Air & Space Museum and beyond

In my new book, Hidden Treasures: What Museum Can’t or Won’t Show You, I’ve included (of course) a few aviation-related items.

The folks at the Daily Planet, the Air & Space Museum’s blog, took notice and this week included a story about the book and the featured items from the museum’s collection.

They started with Katharine Wright’s knickers. The ones she likely wore beneath the lovely, white lace dress she chose to wear when she accompanied her brothers, Orville and Wilbur, to the White house to receive the Aero Club of America award. The dress and the knickers and a wide variety of other items relating to the history of women and aviation are at the International Women’s Air & Space Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

Ohio_Cleveland_WrightKnickers-333x500

The Daily Planet story also notes that Hidden Treasures features Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit. It was designed to withstand the trip to the moon and back, but wasn’t expected to last longer than six months on earth – so is now kept in a cold vault at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia.

Neil Armstrong's spacesuit. Courtesy National Air & Space Museum

Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit. Courtesy National Air & Space Museum

Other aviation-related items you may want to read about:

The metal detector that screened terrorists at the Portland, Maine, airport on the morning of September 11, 2001. That’s on display at the TSA Museum at TSA headquarters in Washington, D.C., which is only accessible to employees and invited guests.

A metal detector which screened hijackers on the morning of September 11th.

A metal detector which screened hijackers on the morning of September 11th.

And the manual Colton Harris-Moore – the Barefoot Bandit- purchased (likely with a stolen credit card) to teach himself how to fly after stealing – and crashing – a small plane.

barefoot bandit

Here’s another link the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum’s blog post about the items and here’s another link to the book: Hidden Treasures: What Museums Can’t or Won’t Show You

Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride & others who left us in 2012

At the end of each year the New York Times Sunday Magazine pays tribute to some of the notable people who left us during the year. This year’s issue includes tributes to Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride, among others.

Neil Armstrong is remembered with a drawing of Armstrong’s Apollo 11 suit, by Tom Sachs, which he based on his study of the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal.

Armstrong

Here’s the real thing, from the Smithsonian Institution’s Air & Space Museum.

D.C. Smithsonian- Neil Armstrong's Space Suit

Sally Ride is remembered with a soft sculpture by Debbi Millman.

Sally Ride

Here’s a link to the full The Lives they Lived issue.