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	McClellan, California, United States
Type	Aviation museum
Founder	Maj. Gen. Sidney Novaresi

The Aerospace Museum of California is a cool place in McClellan, California, near Sacramento, California. It's a special museum that teaches you all about airplanes and space. It's built on what used to be McClellan Air Force Base, a big air force base. This museum is a private, non-profit organization.

Museum History

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

Early Days and Challenges

The McClellan Aviation Museum collected many aircraft and items about aviation history. In 1983, the museum started fixing up an old building at the air force base. It opened its doors to the public in 1986.

In 1998, the museum faced a big challenge. The government decided to close McClellan Field. This process is called Base Realignment and Closure. By 2001, most of the museum's collection was given to a new museum. This new museum was the Aerospace Museum of California. The items were given as long-term loans from the U.S. Air Force.

New Name and Location

In 2001, the museum became a non-profit group. Even though the aircraft were safe, the museum still needed a new home. So, it started looking to buy land in Freedom Park nearby.

As work continued, the museum got a new director. They also planned for a brand new building. In 2005, the museum changed its name again to the Aerospace Museum of California. On January 5, 2007, the museum opened its new Hardie Setzer Pavilion. This building is 37,500 sq ft (3,480 m²) big. They also opened a 4.5-acre Air Park. This new space allowed the museum to show more planes. They now display commercial, private, and military aircraft. In May 2021, the museum also opened the Old Crow Cafe.

Museum's Mission

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

The museum wants to give 30,000 kids from Sacramento a STEM experience. They want to do this no matter what their family background is. The museum hopes to inspire future leaders to work in STEM fields. Their vision is to give every child, school, and family in the Sacramento area an interactive STEM experience. The museum focuses on current learning standards for STEM topics.

Flight Zone Experience

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 find six flight simulators. These simulators run the X-Plane 12 flight program.

Visitors can pretend to fly an aircraft. You use a professional flight simulator with help from experienced instructors. This lets you practice taking off, flying, and landing a plane virtually. The Flight Zone program is for students in 5th to 12th grade. It's great for anyone interested in aviation. The Flight Zone is also open to the general public.

Museum Exhibits

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

Historic Artifacts

Besides aircraft, the museum has many other old items. These artifacts tell the story of Sacramento's aerospace past. It also has a large collection of historic aircraft engines. These engines include examples from World War I. You can see Gnome and Rhone rotary piston engines. There are also large radial piston engines and jet engines. Some jet engines include a I-16 from 1940 and a J57 from 1952. You can also see a J58 turbojet, which was used on the SR-71 Blackbird.

Art Gallery

The museum also has an art gallery. It displays over 50 original artworks. Many of these pieces come from the Air Force Art Collection. Others are from the United States Coast Guard Art 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