photo: David Olsen
In the evening light, the Pima Air and Space Museum’s hundreds of aircrafts on display seem more romantic, and space shuttles exude the special glamour that comes from having circumnavigated the globe countless times, making them particularly well-traveled by anyone’s standards. They’ve doubtless picked up a lot of stardust on their journeys, and now visitors can perhaps share that magic.
This summer, in addition to the regular daily activities that include many ways to get absorbed in aviation-related fun, such as climbing into an airplane and pretending to fly it, Night Wings, an after-hours program, is designed to lure visitors into the museum between the hours of 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Walk among military, commercial, and civil aviation giants, including a B-29 Superfortress, the SR-71 Blackbird, and a rare World War II German V-1 “buzz bomb.” Among the many historic planes are President Kennedy’s Air Force One, presidential aircraft used by Nixon and Johnson, B-52s and the “Super Guppy” transport plane.
Enjoy tram rides until sundown, a curator’s walking tour of the indoor hangars, folding and flying paper airplanes, tasting space food, building and launching paper air rockets, a scavenger hunt, taking the astronaut test, building balloon jets and more.
On July 24, the focus is on the manned space program and exploration of the moon. Additional specialties will include a variety of exciting opportunities to examine a space suit and see moon rocks.
In August, Tucson’s Aviation History will come alive with the help of the Tucson International Airport in honor of Tucson’s Birthday month. A special guest on August 28 will be the Physics Factory bus, which travels to schools and youth groups all over southern Arizona and brings the magic and fun of science to thousands of fortunate students.
Pima Air and Space Museum is located at 6000 E. Valencia Rd., 574-0462, PimaAir.org. The last admission is at 8pm. People over 13 are $10; kids 12 and younger are free.
