February 24, 2020 - Palmsdale & Los Angeles - California

Blackbird Airpark, California Science Center, Los Angeles Museum of Natural History
Woke up early and headed over to the Blackbird Airpark again.  When I pulled up the directions on my phone, I realized that it was closed on Monday.  Ugh!  It was open yesterday and if I'd left earlier I would have been able to go.  Or if I'd bothered to notice the hours when I first went to Lancaster, I could have went on Saturday morning.  But it is what it is.  I parked at a close by day care and wandered the length of the park and took pictures through the fence.  I couldn't read the plaques but it was better than nothing.  I was still able to get great photos of the SR71 & A-12 Blackbirds and a photo of the transportation plane that transported the space shuttle.

From Palmdale I worked my way through LA traffic and headed to the California Science Center.  When I got there, I did a quick search and discovered I was also within walking distance of the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History.  I calculated the amount of time I had left and split it between the two museums.  Both were really well done and beautifully designed.

The highlight of the California Science Center was the Endeavor Space Shuttle and its complete exhibit.  There is a short documentary about the moving of the space shuttle to its location at the museum which was fascinating.  There was a lot of space exploration information, really well done.  The fuel tank for the space shuttle was also parked outside.  The Science Center also had an A-12 Blackbird parked out back.  I got to see two in the same day!




 The highlight of the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History was the dinosaur exhibit.  There was a lot of skeletons and many that were exclusive to the LA area.  They also had a great exhibit on the history of Los Angeles and a mini exhibit on the history of horror films.



I stayed until I got kicked out and wandered back to the car enjoying the rose gardens and art exhibits along the way.

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