USS Midway Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
USS Midway Museum

Midway prepares to moor at its final resting place at Navy pier in San Diego where it became the largest museum devoted to carriers and naval aviation. (10 January 2004)
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Established	7 June 2004 (2004-06-07)
Type	maritime museum

This is the main exhibit area on the Midway's hangar deck.

The USS Midway Museum is a cool place to visit in downtown San Diego, California. It's a museum built inside a real aircraft carrier called the Midway! This ship has a huge collection of aircraft. Many of these planes were even built nearby in Southern California.

The Midways Amazing History

The USS Midway was a very important ship for the United States Navy. It served for a long time, from 1945 to 1992. That makes it the longest-serving aircraft carrier of the 20th century! About 200,000 sailors worked on this ship.

The Midway was known for many new ideas in naval aviation. It also helped with several missions to help people around the world. It was the only aircraft carrier that served through the entire Cold War period and even longer. Today, it's a museum ship right in San Diego, California.

Becoming a Museum

The Midway opened as a museum on June 7, 2004. It quickly became very popular! By 2012, more than 1 million people visited each year. As of 2015, the Midway is the most popular naval warship museum in the United States.

The museum has over 13,000 members. It also hosts more than 700 events every year. These events include many Navy ceremonies for active-duty sailors. The museum also welcomes about 50,000 students on field trips. Plus, 5,000 children get to experience its special overnight program each year!

What You Can See and Do

When you visit, your ticket includes a self-guided audio tour. Former Midway sailors tell you stories as you explore over 60 different spots. You can see where sailors slept and ate in the galley. You can also visit the bridge, the ship's jail (brig), and the post office.

You can even climb into some aircraft and cockpits! There are also videos and exciting flight simulators. A special audio tour is available just for younger visitors.

The museum keeps growing! Its membership has now reached over 25,000 people. In 2017, a cool new holographic movie theater was added. It's called "The Battle of Midway Theater." In 2019, a virtual reality flight simulator ride was added. This is in addition to the four flight simulators they already had.

The GI Film Festival and the San Diego International Film Festival have even shown movies at the museum. In June 2023, a Grumman C-2 Greyhound plane was carefully lifted onto the carrier.

Exciting Events and Filming

The museum hosts many special events. In 2012, it even held a nationally broadcast NCAA basketball game! This game was between San Diego State University and Syracuse University.

Many TV shows have filmed episodes on the Midway. These include American Idol, the Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, FOX News, The Bachelor, and Extreme Makeover. The History Channel and Military Channel have also filmed there. Since 2017, a national college wrestling event called "Battle on the Midway" has been held on the flight deck every November.

Top Gun: Maverick at the Museum

The USS Midway Museum has been part of some really big productions. In 2018 and 2019, parts of the famous movie Top Gun: Maverick were filmed right at the museum! Also, some of the planes from the movie, like the F/A-18 Hornet Jet, are now on display at the museum.

The museum even hosted the worldwide movie premiere on May 4, 2022.

Remembering 9/11

Every year, on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks in 2001, the USS Midway Museum holds a special memorial service. This service remembers the lives lost during that sad event. It's held with help from fire departments and other groups.

During the ceremony, the names of all the first responders who died on 9/11 are read aloud. This service takes place on the flight deck. Hundreds of people gather there each year to remember.

Aircraft Collection

The USS Midway Museum has an amazing collection of aircraft. Here are some of the types of planes you can see:

Bombers and Attack Planes

• Douglas A-1 Skyraider
• Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
• Douglas SBD Dauntless
• Douglas TBD Devastator (a replica)
• Grumman A-6 Intruder
• Grumman TBM Avenger
• LTV A-7 Corsair II
• Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler

Fighter Jets

• Grumman F4F Wildcat
• Grumman F9F Panther
• Grumman F-11 Tiger
• North American FJ-2/-3 Fury
• Vought F4U Corsair
• Vought F7U Cutlass
• Vought F-8 Crusader

Multirole Aircraft

These planes can do many different jobs.

• Grumman F-9 Cougar
• Grumman F-14 Tomcat
• McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II
• McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet

Helicopters

• Bell UH-1 Iroquois gunship
• Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight
• Kaman SH-2 Seasprite
• Piasecki HUP Retriever
• Sikorsky HO3S
• Sikorsky H-34 Seabat
• Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King
• Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk

Reconnaissance and Surveillance Planes

These planes are used for looking and watching.

• Lockheed S-3 Viking
• North American A-5 Vigilante
• Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye

Trainer Aircraft

These planes are used to teach pilots.

• North American T-2 Buckeye
• North American T-6 Texan

Transport and Utility Planes

These planes carry people or supplies.

• Cessna O-1 Bird Dog
• Grumman C-1 Trader
• Grumman C-2 Greyhound

Voices of Midway Film

Voices of Midway is a short film from 2015. It was directed by Scott Levitta and written by Richard Christian Matheson. The movie tells true stories from the Battle of Midway, which happened on June 4, 1942. You can watch this film continuously at the Battle of Midway Theater inside the museum.

See also

• U.S. Navy museums (and other aircraft carrier museums)
• National Naval Aviation Museum
• San Diego Air & Space Museum – Another air museum in San Diego located at Balboa Park