Air Power Park facts for kids
The Air Power Park is a cool outdoor museum located in Hampton, Virginia. It celebrates Hampton's important role in America's early space exploration and aircraft testing. Imagine a park where you can see real airplanes and rockets! It's open every day, from sunrise to sunset, so you can visit whenever you like.
The park covers about 15 acres, which is like 15 football fields! You'll find several old airplanes and experimental space vehicles from the 1950s and 1960s displayed outside. There's even a playground for younger kids to enjoy.
Inside the Museum
The indoor museum at Air Power Park was updated in 2011. It has eight special rooms, each with a different theme. Inside, you can see over 325 models of aircraft, spacecraft, and even ships! These models represent all parts of the U.S. military, like the Air Force and Navy, plus models from other countries.
Some of the exciting rooms you can explore include:
- The NASA Room: Learn about space and rockets!
- The United States Air Force Aviation Room: Discover the history of the Air Force, especially how nearby Langley Air Force Base helped.
- The Cold War Era Room: See models and items from a time when the world was divided into two big groups.
- The United States Navy Room: Explore the history of naval aviation and ships.
- The United States Army Aviation Branch Room: Learn about the Army's aircraft.
The park also has a special time capsule buried outside. It's like a treasure chest filled with items from the past, meant to be opened far in the future!
Awesome Aircraft and Rockets on Display
The outdoor area of Air Power Park is like a giant showroom for amazing machines! You can get up close to many different types of aircraft and rockets that were important in history.
Here are some of the cool things you can see:
- P.1127 Kestrel: An early jet that could take off and land vertically!
- F-86L Sabre: A famous fighter jet from the Korean War.
- Mercury capsule: A real space capsule, like the ones used by America's first astronauts.
- A-7E Corsair II: A powerful attack aircraft.
- F-101F Voodoo: A fast interceptor jet.
- F-89J Scorpion: A large, all-weather fighter plane.
- RF-4C Phantom II: A reconnaissance version of a very famous fighter jet.
- F-105D Thunderchief: A fighter-bomber used in the Vietnam War.
- T-33A Trainer: A jet used to train pilots.
- Jupiter IRBM: A large ballistic missile.
- Nike SAM: A type of surface-to-air missile.
- Nike Ajax SAM: An early version of the Nike missile.
- Nike Hercules SAM: A more powerful Nike missile.
- F-100D Super Sabre: The first U.S. Air Force fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight.
- Polaris A-2 SLBM: A missile launched from submarines.
- Corporal IRBM: An early guided missile.
- Little Joe/Mercury: A booster rocket used to test parts of the Mercury space program. It was launched from Wallops Flight Facility, about 90 miles north of the park.
More to Explore
If you enjoy the Air Power Park, you might also like to learn about:
- List of aerospace museums: Other museums around the world that focus on planes and space.
- Rocket garden: Places where rockets are displayed outdoors, often standing tall like trees in a garden.
