California Science Center Debuts First Artifacts In New Space Shuttle Building
When the 200,000-square-foot addition opens, it will include a 70-foot forward section of a Korean Air Boeing 747-400.
By Carolyn Giardina
The California Science Center held a Monday event with an update on its anticipated 200,000-square-foot addition that will house Space Shuttle Endeavour: Construction of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center building was completed last month, and this morning, it previewed some of the first artifacts installed in one of its main sections, the Korean Air Aviation Gallery.
The installations include one of the gallery’s signature attractions, The 747 Experience, a 70-foot forward section of a Korean Air Boeing 747-400 aircraft fuselage, alongside four suspended aircraft from the Science Center’s collection, which will eventually include approximately 20 aircraft on display.
Those already suspended are a a Grumman F11 F-1 Tiger, the U.S. Navy’s first supersonic fighter jet; a Convair F-106A Delta Dart, the fastest single-engine turbojet-powered airplane; a Pitts Special S-1C aerobatic kit biplane; and a Hawker Siddeley Harrier T.4, the first jet with operational vertical/short takeoff and landing capabilities.
The 747 Experience will include a simulated flight from Los Angeles to Seoul, and other gallery highlights will involve a wind tunnel exhibit with a wind lab; and a “Design a Plane” area, where guest learn how planes are engineered.
The future Korean Air Aviation Gallery will have three primary areas, dubbed Learning to Fly (exploring lift, thrust, drag, and weight), Everyday Flight, and Advanced Aviation.
The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center will also include the Samuel Oschin Shuttle Gallery, which will house Endeavour in a vertical launch configuration with solid rock boosters and an external fuel tank, and the Kent Kresa Space Gallery. An opening date has not yet been set.
During the preview, California Science Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rudolph reported that the Center’s Foundation has now raised over $393 million toward the $450 million Endeavour LA Campaign goal. The Foundation broke ground on the Air and Space Center in 2022.
“We’re creating a one of a kind educational resource that will benefit not only the children and youth of our Los Angeles community, but will spark curiosity and inspire future generations of scientists, engineers and explorers from across the globe,” Rudolph said.
Major donor Walter Cho, chairman and CEO of Korean Air, added that the project is an “incredible opportunity'“ to invest in the next generation. “We want to inspire our youth to dream bigger,” he said.
The California Science Center is located in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park, which will also be home to George Lucas’ Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.