HAVE YOUR ROCKET BECOME PART OF
THE NAR’s NEW MUSEUM OF FLIGHT EXHIBIT
The NAR and the Museum of Flight (MOF) in Seattle, Washington, are partnering to develop and open a big new permanent exhibit on the history and the current technology of hobby rocketry. MOF (www.museumofflight.org) is a world-class aerospace museum that has been entrusted with both the G. Harry Stine and the Vern Estes historical model rocket collections, and that has enthusiastically accepted the title of “the nation’s hobby rocketry museum”. Their big new exhibit on our hobby’s history and technology and on our NAR is being designed to showcase the best examples not only of that history but also of the exciting directions that technology and individual creativity is taking the hobby and the NAR today. It is scheduled to open on November 21, 2014. The rockets and other items that will be part of the exhibit are needed in August.
The rocketry exhibit will include key artifacts of the hobby’s history from the Stine and Estes collections, including the Astron Scout that Jay Apt took to orbit with him on the Space Shuttle, and examples of current notable rockets such as award-winners from recent TARC, SLI, and World Spacemodeling Championships events. A key goal of the exhibit is to inspire visitors to go build and fly their own rockets, so we want to include as well some examples of eye-appealing sport rockets (recently made, not historical artifacts). These will be displayed suspended vertically in the air above the overall exhibit as if they were headed skyward in actual flight, mounted at or slightly above visitor eye level on wires that reach to the ceiling. Your model can be part of this permanent exhibit that will be seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year!
On Sunday evening July 27 at NARAM-56, Bill Stine, Vern Estes, and Trip Barber will hold a display and selection event where NAR members who want their rockets to be considered for inclusion in this museum exhibit can display these models. A dozen model rockets will be selected from among those on display, and at the end of the evening these models will be packed up and sent directly to the Museum of Flight to become a permanent part of the display. Nine of these models will be selected by popular vote of the NAR members who view the rockets on display, then Vern, Bill, and Trip each get one personal pick.
Here are the ground rules for what kinds of rockets you should bring to compete:
· At least 12 inches long but no more than 36, and no more than 3 pounds in weight
· Museum quality finish – paint, decals, wood and body seam filling, etc. is necessary but no installed recovery system is required. Use a robust 3/16 or ¼ launch lug if possible, to give the Museum options for how to suspend the rocket in the air.
· Iconic and eye-appealing kit designs, either in original size or upscaled to match the length standards, original designs, or Concept Scale-type models, are all welcome.
· Other original designs are welcome, keeping in mind that the purpose of the display is to inspire viewers to say “That’s a cool and pretty rocket, I’d like to build one like that, and I think I can do it” so overly complex models are not desired.
PDF of this page: http://naram56.org/images/MuseumOfFlightDisplay.pdf
