Space shuttle Discovery is a good reason to visit the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, but this Super Science Saturday is all about helicopters. The Aug. 11 program—“Helicopters”—will be the most ambitious Super Science Saturday yet, with helicopters from the U.S. Coast Guard, Fairfax County Police Department, Army National Guard and privately owned helicopters flying in especially to be on display outside the museum for one day only. Some of the helicopters that will be on view:
- UH – 72 (Lakota)
- MD500Bell 427
- Eurocopter AS355 Twin Star
- Fairfax County Bell 429
- Coast Guard MH–65 Dolphin
Inside the center, visitors will have the opportunity to learn how helicopters work through art activities, discovery stations, conversations with individuals working in the field, model helicopter flying demonstrations and presentations. Presenters include the U.S. Navy Helicopter Association, Virginia Airborne Search and Rescue, Helicopter Association International, and American Helicopter Society. The team of University of Maryland students who set a world record with Gamera II, a human-powered helicopter, will staff a display inside the center.
Super Science Saturdays, which began in April and occur monthly, are a day full of educational science fun at the Udvar-Hazy Center. They take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month and offer a variety of activities focused a different science concept. Through demonstrations and hands-on activities, young visitors become immersed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) topics related to aviation and space exploration. Super Science Saturdays are made possible by the support of FBR.
The National Air and Space Museum building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is located at Sixth Street and Independence Avenue S.W. The museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is located in Chantilly, Va., near Washington Dulles International Airport. Both facilities are open daily from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Admission is free, but there is a $15 fee for parking at the Udvar-Hazy Center.
Gamera II pilot Colin Gore pedals furiously during a flight attempt on June 20. Photo by Earl Zubkoff, Essential Eye Photographics.
The team will be at the Udvar-Hazy Center for Super Science Saturday, August 11, 2012.
This USCG MH-65D Dolphin is one of several aircraft featured in a temporary outdoor display at the 2012 "Become A Pilot" family day at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, in Chantilly, VA.