Aerospace Museum of California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Aerospace Museum of California

The front entrance of the museum
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Established	1982 (1982)
Location	North Highlands, California, United States
Type	Aviation museum
Founder	Maj. Gen. Sidney Novaresi

The Aerospace Museum of California is a cool place to learn about airplanes and space! It's located in North Highlands, California, which is just outside Sacramento, California. This museum sits on the land that used to be a big Air Force base called McClellan Air Force Base. It's a private museum, meaning it's run by a non-profit group that loves aviation.

Discovering the Museum's History

The museum first opened in 1982. It was called the Air Force Logistics Museum of the West. But less than a year later, its name changed to the McClellan Aviation Museum. This museum was officially supported by the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

The museum started getting old buildings ready in 1983. By 1986, it was open to the public! It showed off many airplanes and other items from aviation history.

A New Name and Location

In 1998, the museum faced a challenge. The McClellan Air Force Base was closing down. This process is called Base Realignment and Closure. The museum was worried it might have to close too.

But the museum found a way to keep going! In 2001, it became a non-profit organization. Most of its amazing collection of aircraft were officially loaned from the U.S. Air Force. This meant the planes would stay safe.

Even with the planes secured, the museum needed a new home. It worked hard to buy land nearby in Freedom Park. In 2005, the museum got a new director and announced plans for a brand new building. It also changed its name one more time to the Aerospace Museum of California.

On January 5, 2007, the museum opened its new 37,500 sq ft (3,480 m²) Hardie Setzer Pavilion. It also opened a 4.5-acre Air Park. This new space allowed the museum to show even more planes. They could now display commercial and private aircraft, plus planes from all parts of the armed forces. In May 2021, the museum also opened the Old Crow Cafe.

Inspiring Future Leaders: The Museum's Mission

The Aerospace Museum of California has an important goal. It wants to "inspire students to explore, dream and discover STEM through hands-on learning." STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

The museum hopes to give 30,000 kids in Sacramento a great STEM experience. They want to do this no matter what their family background is. Their vision is to offer fun, interactive STEM learning to every child and family in the Sacramento area. They hope to inspire future leaders to work in STEM fields.

Experience Flight in the Flight Zone

Students and instructors using the Flight Zone flight simulators at the museum.

The museum has a special area called the Flight Zone. Here, you can try out six different flight simulators. These simulators run the X-Plane 11 program.

You can pretend to be a pilot and fly an aircraft! Experienced flight instructors are there to help you. You can practice taking off, flying, and landing a plane virtually. The Flight Zone is perfect for students in 5th to 12th grade. It's a great way to learn about aviation and related jobs. Anyone can also try it out!

Amazing Exhibits to Explore

The museum has over 40 aircraft in its collection. These range from a fully restored Fairchild PT-19 to one of the last F-14D Tomcats used by the U.S. Navy. The F-14D Tomcat was retired in 2006.

Besides planes, the museum has many other historic items. These items tell the story of Sacramento's aerospace past. You can also see a large collection of historic aircraft engines. These engines include old ones from World War I, like the Gnome and Rhone rotary piston engines. There are also large radial piston engines and jet engines. Some famous jet engines on display include the General Electric J31 (from 1940), the Pratt & Whitney J57 #35 (from 1952), and the J58 turbojet. The J58 was used on the super-fast SR-71 Blackbird plane.

The museum also has an art gallery. It features more than 50 original artworks. Many of these come from the Air Force Art Collection and the United States Coast Guard Art Collection.

Collection

Aircraft on display

A FedEx Express Boeing 727 on display at the museum

A Lockheed F-104B Starfighter on display at the museum

Engines on display

Visitors inside the exhibit hall at the museum

See also

• List of aerospace museums
• McClellan Air Force Base

Gallery