JANUARY
Wells Fargo Free First Thursday
Thursday, Jan. 5, 5 to 9 p.m.
Once a month, the Museum stays open late – and admission is free. Enjoy the Museum’s Great Gallery, Personal Courage Wing, Red Barn 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.
Family Activity
Bank of America Weekend Family Workshop: Pushing the Envelope: the X-15!
Saturdays and Sundays, Jan 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, 29; 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
In the early ’60s, a new generation of test pilots went to space in the X-15 experimental aircraft. Learn about the X-15-then design your own!
FEBRUARY
Wells Fargo Free First Thursday
Thursday, Feb. 2, 5 to 9 p.m.
Once a month, the Museum stays open late – and admission is free. Enjoy the Museum’s Great Gallery, Personal Courage Wing 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.
Family Activity
Bank of America Weekend Family Workshop: Saturn V – Rocket to the Moon!
Saturdays and Sundays, Feb 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26; 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Learn about the Saturn V – the rocket that took United States astronauts to the moon.
Then make your own model of this famous spacecraft.
Lecture
Black History Month Panel Discussion
Saturday, Feb. 4, 2 p.m.
Black aerospace professionals share their inspiring experiences.
Special Event
The 17th Annual Popsicle Bridge Contest
Saturday, Feb. 11, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Younger Member Forum of the American Society of Civil Engineers host a competition of bridges built using only Popsicle sticks and white glue. Each year, teams of high school students from local schools build bridges that are aesthetically pleasing, yet strong and efficient. The bridges will be judged, and then tested to the breaking point with a hydraulic press. The testing is done with great drama in the Museum’s theater, in front of participants and cheering fans. Winners will be announced at noon.
Special Event
2012 NorthWest Scale Modelers Show
Saturday, Feb. 18 and Sunday, Feb. 19, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Experience the world in-miniature at the Northwest Scale Modelers Show Feb. 18 and 19 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. NorthWest Scale Modelers (NWSM) will push the envelope with a massive show of modeling force, attempting to stage the largest model show in Pacific Northwest history. See hundreds upon hundreds of model aircraft, cars, tanks, ships, spacecraft and more from the NWSM member collections. Meet expert modelers and learn about the fascinating hobby of scale modeling.
The show will feature special displays of models representing famous aircraft produced by the Mikoyan-and-Gurevich Design Bureau. Also displayed are models of the creatures and hardware from the “Star Wars” series.
Children age 6 and up are invited to learn the art of modeling during free “Make and Take” workshops sponsored by Galaxy Hobby and Skyway Model Shop. NWSM members will be on hand to help children build a scale aircraft model to take home.
Lecture
“Robot Dreams – Building R2-D2”
Master Modeler Bob Jacobsen
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2 p.m.
Bob Jacobsen will talk about how he designed and built a life-size, operational model of the movie star droid, R2-D2. Jacobsen will share the stage with the popular robot, and both will field questions from the audience following the presentation.
Lecture
“The Right Stuff Revisited: Project Mercury 50 Years On”
Roger Launius, National Air and Space Museum Senior Curator
Sunday, Feb. 19, 2 p.m.
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of astronaut John Glenn’s historic orbital flight, historian Roger Launius’ presentation will reconsider the Project Mercury space program and the individuals who carried it out. It will relate the origins and execution of this first attempt to reach into space and its meaning after 50 years.
In 1979 author Tom Wolfe redefined the public persona of the first astronauts in his bestselling book, The Right Stuff. His story spanned the period from early high-speed flight immediately after World War II to the end of America’s first human spaceflight program, Project Mercury. Launius will shed some new light on the men who were said to have “the right stuff.”
Roger D. Launius is senior curator in the Division of Space History at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Between 1990 and 2002 he served as chief historian of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Launius has written or edited more than twenty books on aerospace history, including “Smithsonian Atlas of Space Exploration”; “Robots in Space: Technology, Evolution, and Interplanetary Travel”; and “Space Stations: Base Camps to the Stars.” He served as a consultant to the space shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation Board in 2003 and is frequently a commentator on National Public Radio and all the major television network news programs.
Special Event
Hops and Props
Saturday, Feb. 25, 6 to 10 p.m.
Hops and Props is The Museum of Flight’s annual craft beer tasting event with over 40 brewers on hand. VIP tickets are sold out, general admission tickets sell out well in advance. Designated driver tickets are available on-line or at The Museum of Flight Store the night of the event. All proceeds benefit The Museum of Flight.
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