Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Planning

Displaying the Smaller Air and Space Artifacts

Visitors will be amazed by the size of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center and inspired by the many aircraft and spacecraft displayed in the 984-foot-long Boeing Aviation Hangar and adjacent James S. McDonnell Space Hangar. However, there will be much more than aircraft and spacecraft to see there.

Approximately 80 aircraft and 35 spacecraft will be in their new home. This view looks north from the mid-point of the aviation hangar. Visualization by Interface Multimedia
The development of aerial cameras is shown in this collection of smaller artifacts in a "storefront" case. Photo by Carl J. Bobrow, NASM

Smaller objects will also be displayed in a variety of ways. Most will be in cases built especially for the Center. Designing and building the cases, along with selecting and arranging the artifacts, is a task that requires many departments of the National Air and Space Museum to work together as an efficient team. William Jacobs, Senior Exhibit Designer and Project Manager for the display cases and exhibit stations, tells us that the National Air and Space Museum team of 35-40 staff members includes experts from:

• Aeronautics and Space History Divisions – Curators who are responsible for collecting the artifacts and preserving the history of aviation and spaceflight. They pick the themes for the exhibit stations and cases, select the artifacts, and write the labels.
• Preservation & Restoration Unit – Technicians who restore, repair, clean, and preserve the artifacts.
• Exhibits Design Division – Designers who decide how exhibits should look to give museum goers access, pleasure, and knowledge. Their goal is attractive displays that catch the attention of visitors and quickly tell a story that people of all ages and backgrounds can understand.
• Production Division – Craftsmen who construct brackets and mounting devices.
• Collection Processing Unit – Specialists transport objects from storage to destination, clean and conserve (restore, repair, preserve) artifacts, photograph the artifacts and the installation process, set up mannequins, and place artifacts in the cases as well as other tasks as needed.
• Collections Information Services Unit – Museum specialists who provide registrarial services to ensure that all objects have accession numbers and are tagged properly.
• Conservation Unit – Conservators who make sure that artifacts have the proper care and environment so that they will be available to the public and to researchers many years from now.

As explained by Dorothy Cochrane, Curator in the Aeronautics Division, ten thematic exhibit stations will be placed throughout the Center. The exhibit stations with display cases and barrier systems will group aircraft or spacecraft according to the themes listed below. Even the hanging aircraft will relate to the stations and aircraft on the floor.

1. Business Aviation
2. General Aviation
3. Commercial Aviation (25-27 aircraft models)
4. Sport Aviation
5. World War II Aviation
6. Cold War Aviation
7. Korean and Vietnam War Aircraft
8. Modern Military Aviation
9. Space Hangar Preview
10. Pre-1920 Aviation

William Jacobs says that the exhibit stations and barrier systems will be in sections that can be easily rearranged as needs change. On opening day, 1050 meters (0.6 mile) of barrier trusses in 5-meter (16-foot) lengths will be in place. Future plans call for three to four kilometers (about 2 miles) of barriers.

A prototype of an exhibit station, with two of the three types of display cases that will be used at the Udvar-Hazy Center, was on display in Gallery 104 of the National Air and Space Museum on the Mall from December 2002 to March 2003. This test installation proved the concept, and only minor adjustments were needed to more fully meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

View of the prototype exhibit station for Pre-1920 Aircraft. The barrier around the has two built-in seats for museum visitors, video monitors, labels explaining the exhibit, and lighting fixtures. Photo by Bill Doole

Within these exhibit stations, and throughout the Center, three sizes of display cases will house smaller artifacts that require special protection from the deteriorating effects of temperature, humidity, light, and pollutants, or for their security. William Jacobs says that the cases are designed to last at least 30 years, even though they will be opened as needed to rearrange the displays.

It is imperative that the objects be presented in a way that is meaningful to visitors, yet the cases must protect these valuable and irreplaceable national treasures. The three types of cases, and how they are being used, include:

Storefront cases

These are large cases (6 meters long, 3 meters high, 1 meter deep (240 inches X 120 inches X 40 inches)). The first five cases will display artifacts from these collections:

• Balloonamania
• Aerial cameras
• Machine guns
• Propulsion
• Commercial aircraft models

A large storefront case can hold many objects, including the furniture in this case for the Balloonamania exhibit. Photo by Carl J. Bobrow, NASM

Medium cases

These cases are for clothing, models, and other smaller-sized artifacts. The medium cases will display artifacts from these collections:

• Balloonamania
• Aerobatics
• Vertical flight aircraft models
• General aviation aircraft models
• Women in the military
• Charles Lindbergh
• Air racing
• WWI aircraft models
• Hap Arnold
• Engen memorial

Medium-size cases (edged in blue) can hold mannequins and a number of other small objects. The panel to the right of the case explains the overall theme of this prototype display station. Photo by Bill Doole

Small mannequin cases

The smallest cases will contain single objects, such as mannequins clad with aviation or space clothing. On opening day, we will see the following artifacts in these cases:

• Polish MiG-15 pilot uniform
• Amelia Earhart costume
• F-16 Gulf War pilot uniform
• SR-71 pilot/RF-4 pilot uniforms
• General Doolittle uniform
• General Eddie Rickenbacker uniform
• Rocket belt

After the Center opens in December 2003, more exhibit stations and display cases will be added. New themes will include:

• Aircraft propellers
• Large reconnaissance cameras
• Large aircraft models
• Gun turrets

Curator Dorothy Cochrane tells us that cases, in general, are not environmentally controlled. Much care has been given to the temperature, humidity, and light throughout the Center, so few additional control systems are needed. However:

• Fiber optical lighting is used in small cases to avoid heating from light fixtures.
• Fluorescent light is used in the medium and large cases since it is a cool light source.
• Cases will be sealed to keep insects out.
• Temperature will be controlled by air flow (fans), but without heaters.

Small mannequin cases, trimmed in red, will house mannequins to display clothing, such as this early Army Air Corps uniform. This case uses fiber optical lighting, which keeps the inside cool. Photo by Bill Doole

Dorothy also tells us that objects will be rotated to avoid long exposures to light, temperatures, or gases that could cause fading, particularly in paper and clothing.

Linda King, Exhibits Designer, explains that extremely light-sensitive material will not be displayed until conservators have examined the artifacts and taken measurements of the actual Udvar-Hazy lighting – 10 foot-candles are the maximum illumination permitted. Blue wool test strips will be placed in each case to monitor the effects of light. Cases also will have motion sensors – a visitor near a case will cause the interior lights to turn on. When no one is around, lights will be off to protect the artifacts.

In describing the storefront cases, Linda says that the shelves are all glass so that light falls through from the light fixtures at the top (with milkplex sheets to diffuse light) to the artifacts on the bottom shelf. Switches control each row of lights so that light levels can be adjusted to suit the contents.

See how the lights illuminate artifacts from top to bottom in this storefront case display of machine guns. Photo by Carl J. Bobrow, NASM

Backlit transparencies with text and photos will be placed next to each case to help visitors understand the overall theme of the objects displayed (see medium-size case photo, above).

In each storefront case, 72 to 138 objects will be displayed in "open storage." This system will ultimately allow the Museum to relocate thousands of smaller objects from closed storage environments. Although labels explaining the history of each item will be more streamlined than at the museum downtown, according to Linda King, each artifact will have an accession number, and in the future visitors may be able to enter the numbers into a computer terminal where they will find more in depth information (these terminals will not be in place on opening day). In the database, each object will also have a photo.

These aircraft engine parts were keys to the development of manned flight. Photo by Douglas Dammann, NASM

Developing the layouts for the cases takes a lot of care to ensure that the objects are presented in a manner that challenges the visitors' understanding. Linda King uses the AutoCAD computer program to design the layouts. She then places the artifacts in a prototype case and has them photographed. When exhibit designers and curators are satisfied with the way a case looks, that set of objects is removed and packed for shipping to the Udvar-Hazy Center. When the boxes arrive, the pictures will be used to help the museum specialists quickly reassemble the displays in their final locations.

The engine parts in this prototype storefront case are carefully laid out and labeled. This photo will be used to reassemble the display at the Udvar-Hazy Center. Photo by Douglas Dammann, National Air and Space Museum
Linda King (exhibit designer), Suzanne Lewis (curatorial assistant), and Lillie Wiggins (collections staff member) are “using a list and checking it twice” to ensure proper identification of artifacts in the Balloonamania exhibit case and to record their placement. Photo by Eric Long, NASM

A visit to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will be an education in the development, science, and beauty of the air and space age. Visitors will find their time is well spent when they stop and explore the displays in the exhibit stations and artifact cases throughout the Center.

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