 |
| photos courtesy Armstrong Air and Space Museum |
Last summer, you heard about our visit to the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in
Wapakoneta, OH -- home of NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong. After our appearance during last
summer’s rocket weekend was so popular with guests, the museum decided to host
a special “Star Wars” themed event and invited Great Lakes Base and Ohio
Garrison back for another mission to “the moon.”
The Armstrong Air and Space Museum is located along I-75, and the dome of the building was designed to resemble the moon -- site of astronaut Armstrong’s famous landing, back in the summer of 1969. The museum hosts several artifacts from the Apollo 11 mission including moon rocks and Armstrong’s space suit -- as well as the actual Gemini VIII spacecraft. There are also many items from Armstrong’s life in Wapakoneta and his early years learning how to fly.
The Armstrong Air and Space Museum is located along I-75, and the dome of the building was designed to resemble the moon -- site of astronaut Armstrong’s famous landing, back in the summer of 1969. The museum hosts several artifacts from the Apollo 11 mission including moon rocks and Armstrong’s space suit -- as well as the actual Gemini VIII spacecraft. There are also many items from Armstrong’s life in Wapakoneta and his early years learning how to fly.
What made this visit a little different was the “Star Wars”
Q/A session, which took place under the 56 foot dome of the museum’s Astro
Theater. After a brief introduction
by the museum staff, the conversation quickly shifted from a lecture on Star
Wars into more of a town hall discussion about not just Rebel Legion and 501st -- but also a chance for us to lose our “in character” personas and just be
ourselves. Both adults and even
the kids had interesting questions for each of us, ranging from topics of how
we assemble our costumes/characters, what our personal favorite Star Wars
movies are (Return of the Jedi -- in my case), down to one little boy who simply wanted
to us to know his favorites are Episodes I-III. It was both refreshing (and somewhat different) to let down
our guard of having to stay “in character” while in public, because it was the
chance to relate to the audience more; both as fans of Star Wars and fans of
real-life space exploration.
And wouldn’t you know it -- afterwards, kids still came up to us asking for photos and autographs. Even after the crowds had gone, we toured around to checkout the museum’s exhibits and displays.
And wouldn’t you know it -- afterwards, kids still came up to us asking for photos and autographs. Even after the crowds had gone, we toured around to checkout the museum’s exhibits and displays.
While this visit to the Armstrong Air and Space Museum was
brief, you can expect the Rebels and Empire will return for some event in the future!
No comments:
Post a Comment