Tag Archive for: Tellus Museum

At the Controls in your neighborhood

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"At the Controls" exhibition at the Tellus Science Museum. Photo courtesy Eric Long.

Ever wondered what the cockpit looked like in Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis? Or what the viewpoint was inside the Wright brothers’ 1903 Flyer? Affiliates now have the opportunity to show their visitors an up-close view of some of the most famous cockpits in aviation history. At the Controls, an exhibition created from a book of the same title published by Eric Long and Mark Avino from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM), invites visitors to get a pilot’s point of view through 22 large-scale, color photographs. 

Originally a Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service traveling exhibition, At the Controls completed its five-year tour in 2009 and returned to NASM where it is now being offered exclusively to Affiliates at a special rate. Interested Smithsonian Affiliates will only be responsible for the cost of shipping and insurance – there is no participation fee.  “The exhibition offers a never before seen and very unique perspective of the history of cockpits from some of the world’s most impressive air and spacecraft,” said Long.  

"At the Controls" at Tellus Science Museum. Photo courtesy Eric Long.

The exhibition is currently on view at the Tellus Science Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate in Cartersville, Georgia, and will close on November 13, 2011, after which time it will be open for additional booking.  

The images are printed on flexible material which can be displayed on lightweight, freestanding structures or on exhibition walls.  Each photograph is labeled with aircraft information and details specific to each cockpit.  Some of the extraordinary aircraft included are the Wright brothers’ 1903 Flyer, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis, John Glenn’s  Mercury Friendship 7, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, and the Space Shuttle Columbia. 

For more information on exhibition availability, please contact Smithsonian Affiliations National Outreach Manager, Caroline Mah, at mahc@si.edu or 202-633-5308. 

Exhibition Specifications: 

  • Contents: 22 large-format color digital images with text printed on flexible banner material, freestanding units
  • Size: 130 running feet
  • Crates: 3
  • Weight: 173 kg (382 lb.)
  • Estimated Shipping: For example, recent costs from Washington, D.C. to Cartersville, GA via Fed Ex were approximately $300.   Shipping prices will vary. 
  • Insurance Value: $22,000 ($1,000 per banner). Venues must have adequate general commercial liability insurance or be self-insured.
  • Space Requirements: minimum 700 sq ft.

**Affiliates are responsible for shipping and insurance costs.

 

A record-breaking sailplane of the 1930s, the Senior Albatross Falcon looks like an otherworldy life form.

 

Say hello to our new Affiliates

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A look at the interior of the Hiller Aviation Museum

 This summer, Smithsonian Affiliations was pleased to welcome three new organizations to its network of 165 Affiliate partners in 41 states, D.C., Panama and Puerto Rico. Here’s a chance to get to know them a little more– 

Hiller Aviation Museum (San Carlos, CA)

Ever heard of the Black Diamond? No, it’s not a sparkling gemstone, but an airplane built by a couple of shipyard buddies in 1910. After a successful flight in 1912, the Diamond was crated and stored until 1930 when the Yuba College Aeronautical School fixed it up and displayed the airplane at the Oakland Airport. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum acquired it in 1948, before subsequently loaning it to the Hiller Aviation Museum for restoration. Visitors to the Hiller today can experience a piece of the Smithsonian, and America’s aviation history. Through unique aircraft collections, exhibits, and programs, the museum provides a stimulating environment with multiple ways for visitors to experience the adventure and innovation of flight and to use aviation as a portal for exploring science, history, and technology. Take a virtual walkthrough of the Hiller Aviation Museum and find out more about the Black Diamond restoration project!

Tellus: Northwest Georgia Science Museum   (Cartersville, GA)

tellusThis mining museum located just north of Atlanta just got an $18 million facelift. The Tellus: Northwest Georgia Science museum is a new version of the old museum. In fact, the old museum – all 9,000 square feet of it – could fit into just one of its four new galleries that make up the 120,000 square foot museum today. The Tellus is a museum on a mission to bring the latest research and information on current science topics to visitors from Atlanta to Chattanooga. Only recently announcing their Affiliation with the Smithsonian, the Tellus hopes to bring more artifacts to its new space through the Affiliations program and enhance their already eye-popping collection of minerals, rocks, gems and fossil specimens, and objects related to Georgia’s rich mining heritage in Cartersville and Bartow County. The museum also has artifacts related to science in motion with motorized vehicles and a recent library in the museum space.

Georgia Aquarium   (Atlanta, GA)

Whale sharks, belugas, and rays. oh my! Those are just a few of more than 100,000 animals from 500+ species that can be found at the Georgia Aquarium. Looking for mystery? Visitors to the aquarium can see a giant squid specimen, on loan from the National Museum of Natural History. Recently, the VP of Guest Services at the aquarium visited NMNH and met with the Ocean Hall educators and curators to talk about collaboration ideas in the future. And, two Affiliations team members recently made the trip from Washington, D.C., to the aquarium and documented it in a recent blog. Didn’t get a chance to see it? Click here to read about their adventure and become a fan of Smithsonian in your Neighborhood, our Facebook page, to see the photo album.