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 Updated: 11/18/2011 
San Diego Air and Space Musuem
San Diego, California
Description

The San Diego Aerospace Museum was the first aviation museum to be accredited by the American Association of Museums and is considered one of the top five aviation and space museums in the nation.
Its mission - celebrate, educate, and inspire - guides the Museum in its goal to encourage involvement in aerospace by discovering the history of achievements in this field. The Museum's 100+ aircraft and spacecraft, thousands of artifacts, world-class archives, and nationaly-acclaimed education programs

History

The Museum was founded in 1963. After building one of the most significant aviation collections in the world, the Museum was completely consumed by arson fire in February 1978. Thanks to the generosity of the citizens of San Diego and well wishers worldwide, the Museum rebuilt its operations and collections in the historic 1935 Ford Building in Balboa Park, San Diego in 1980.

Artifact Collections

100+ original and reproduction aircraft and spacecraft, including the Apollo 9 command module, Mitsubishi A6M7 Zero, 1916 SPAD VII, GPS satellite, 1927 Boeing FB-5 fighter, 1930 Ford Trimotor, 1909 Bleriot XI, and MiG-15. Approximately twenty aircraft reside at the Museum's Gillespie Field annex in El Cajon, CA.

Research Collections

The Museum's Archives is one of the largest, most comprehensive collections of primary and secondary aviation resources in the world. The collection comprises over one million images; hundreds of thousands of feet of film; 30,000 books; 10,000 technical manuals and drawings; and the corporate archives for Ryan and Convair.

Programs

Docent and volunteer program
Internship program
Guided tours
Museum-hosted classrooms for area public schools
Lecturer series
Traveling exhibits
Speakers bureau
Aviation ground school
Flight simulators

Governance

Board of Directors (20-34 members)

Library

Access: General Public, Students, Scholars

Appointment required: True

Address
2001 Pan American Plaza
San Diego, CA 92101
phone: 619-234-8291
fax: 619-233-4526
home page: www.sandiegoairandspace.org
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Hours of Operation

Normal Hours
10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
With admission until 4:00 p.m.
Summer Hours
(Memorial Day through Labor Day):
10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
With admission until 5:00 p.m.
Closed:Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day

Admission
Museum Type(s)
General
History
Library
Military
Science
Specialized
Staff
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