The Pima Air and Space Museum located in Phoenix Arizona
The Bumble Bee
is ginormous.With over 300 planes on over 120 acres, come early and get the two day pass if you can! There is just so much to see and experience. There are huge hangers filled with planes and history and displays that overflow until your brain explodes. There is one very large hanger devoted to aerospace and all the trappings. Unbelievable. I don’t think anyone can see it in the day so if you don’t have time for the two day pass put it in you plans to come back again as it is an overwhelming quantity of planes. On your first trip Continue reading Pima Air and Space Museum→
The Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory Tour is a must see for all baseball fans. What fun! These guys have had the professional baseball bat market covered for over 100 years. The tour is informative for all, and incredible for a baseball fan. No pictures are allowed inside the factory, (some union issue) so you will have go there to see it! The Factory Tour take you from a tree to a finished bat, including how it was done then and how it is done now. The tour guide was oh so very helpful and informative. And as an added bonus at the end of the tour you receive a mini-Louisville Slugger bat as a souvenir.
From Tree to Bat on the Tour
There is a movie theatre with a show on the history of the Louisville Slugger and all the batting heroes of baseball’s past. It is a nice diversion and quite enlightening. Around the facility there are many photo opportunities with murals and statutes as backdrops to make some nice memories. The wall of signatures is sure to please baseball fanatics. The Very nice facility, happy workers, a nice theatre make for a wonderful experience. Continue reading Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory Tour→
I flew into Baltimore and couldn’t meet my niece for a few hours and needed a diversion until after she got off work. So, I looked around and found the National Electronics Museum. I don’t know what I expected, but I just have to investigate these small museums. Now this one from the outside definitely has a military look with all the big radars and antenna out front. As it was created by people who were military contractors I expected maybe I’ll find all the junk that is no longer top secret. Well it seems that people who retire in this industry have devoted a huge amount of time to saving the history that they created in the electronics industry and the military industrial complex. So different types of radars are listed, displayed,
National Electronics Museum
explained, and done so in a very understandable way. It is quite enlightening. then they talk about types of radios and how they were used to solve various puzzles to defend England, America, our troops, and other bits of history. To examine the satellites used for communications and their history was likewise eye opening in that all of the explanations in this museum are definitely from a different a point of view and one might read in a sanitized history book.
For instance when the Germans were bombing London they were using various frequency bands that used together gave them targeting system that they could use day or night. One ingenious fellow took to the problem. He investigated in the frequency bands that were not being used by our systems and found their targeting frequencies. Continue reading National Electronics Museum – Baltimore→
The California African American Museum is drop dead unbelievable. The quality of the art is world class. The spacious open feeling of the lobby is fabulous. The quality of the presentation of the art in each of the four galleries is fabulous. Now most people who come down to the Los Angeles Coliseum are on their way to the California Science Center – Los Angeles CA to see the Space Shuttle Endeavor or the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. Well both are excellent museums for sure. but catch this, as you enter the parking lot for the California Science Museum, you can see an SR-71 Blackbird. Behind the Blackbird is The California African American Museum. Many people never even notice that it is there. Well in is and it fabulous. The galleries will change periodically, so the art I will describe might have been changed. So, let me tell you about the galleries on one of my visits.The the first one called Visibly Invisible is just a knock out. It is all about albinism in Tanzania and in Jamaica and to a lesser degree in the United States. The people are discriminated against because they are albino. It is gripping touching and incredibly informative. The prejudice and literal hacking away of body parts for sale to witch doctors is beyond shocking to learn that this is happening on earth today. Beyond words for sure.
The next gallery Curvature: Lines and Shapes is a quite interesting style. Several of my artist friends I would like to come see this one. I will be encouraging them to this location as soon as possible. The art is a bit abstract here for me, but of great quality. I enjoyed it very much.
The next gallery show was titled Lookin’ Back In Front Of Me had selected pieces of art from the works of Mark Steven Greenfield. He was a director of the Watts Towers Museum Arts Center. As a supporter of the arts and local artists for decades, his range of work is eye opening and wonderful. The next gallery had even more incredible history and art of Los Angeles. All I can say at this time is that I was overwhelmed at the quality at the California African American Museum and the art therein.
Oh yes. It’s free. Triple WOW.
About The Author
Charles Carlin
Museums small, medium and large are a passion for Charley. Locating them around the southwest and other parts of the country is a quest that will never end. Enjoy the finds, flubs, and more here on Stupid Vacations. Charley can be found about the web on his family blog – charley.net– his social media guide – Charley Carlin – Social Media Guide and via Reviews on YELP, Trip Advisor, and Google
The Dug Up Gun Museum is a real gem of an oddity. Now for those of you who have read some of my other blog posts, you probably know I really enjoy finding odd little museums. Well, the Cody Dug Up Gun Museum is a masterpiece of collecting, cataloging and presentation. Inside the Cody Dug Up Gun Museum resides a lifetime collection of exactly what it says, Dug up Guns. Now if this sounds a little to weird, and to some it will, I must admit that my wife really rolled her eyes and pretty much thought I was a bit off bubble when I suggested we visit this museum. Most people in Cody go to the highly advertised and much more expensive Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum. Well when we got done at the Dug Up Gun Museum we were both very pleased that we had stopped. Many moons ago, I think Hans said 30 years age, Hans was intrigued by a gun that he found and wondered what it was. Using his best sleuthing and forensic data, he skillfully figured out what he had found. Well the game is afoot. He found various guns and as he was a rare gun dealer, others found out that he was collecting and cataloging specimens. Over the next few decades Hans has built a wonderful collection that is beautifully displayed and incredibly curated. Continue reading The Dug Up Gun Museum→
The Titan Missile Museum is in the desert just outside of Sahurita, Arizona. Beneath the cactus lies the only remaining Titan Missile silo in the US with a missile in the upright position. During the Cold War, this was a part of the nuclear deterrent system, as it was called. The site contains a Titan Missile in the upright position and the full control system used to govern the process of nuclear missile launch. Before you get to the tour Continue reading Titan Missile Museum→
Well, the Cody Dug Up Gun Museum is a masterpiece of collecting, cataloging and presentation. Inside the Cody Dug Up Gun Museum resides a lifetime collection of exactly what it says, Dug up Guns. Now if this sounds a little to weird, and to some it will, I must admit that my wife really rolled her eyes and pretty much thought I was a bit off bubble when I suggested we visit this museum. Most people in Cody go to the highly advertised and much more expensive 
Well when we got done at the Dug Up Gun Museum we were both very pleased that we had stopped. Many moons ago, I think Hans said 30 years age, Hans was intrigued by a gun that he found and wondered what it was. Using his best sleuthing and forensic data, he skillfully figured out what he had found. Well the game is afoot. He found various guns and as he was a rare gun dealer, others found out that he was collecting and cataloging specimens. Over the next few decades Hans has built a wonderful collection that is beautifully displayed and incredibly curated. 