Drones: Is the Sky the Limit?, opened on Friday at the Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum in New York City, and is the first ever major museum exhibition in the United States that explores the history of drone technology from the earliest unmanned flying machines to the technological innovations and advanced systems that have made them almost indispensable in the 21st century.
The exhibit, many parts of it interactive and child-friendly takes visitors on a journey that explores the ever-growing drone industry and the many applications where drone technology is used today, including scientific research, art, transportation, law enforcement, the petroleum industry, and medical care.
Visitors will see a variety of drones, including the Radioplane OQ-2/TDD Target Drone, on loan from the Academy of Model Aeronautics, National Model Aviation Museum. The aerial target drone was developed by the Radioplane Company in the early 1940s. Reginald Denny, a famous silent film actor of the 1920s, was also a model airplane enthusiast. In 1940, Denny founded the company.
The origins section of the exhibit explores the many uses of military drones, that include reconnaissance, delivering supplies and even gathering weather data. On display is the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle, which is launched via a catapult and was instrumental in a Navy SEAL rescue operation against Somali pirates in 2009.
There is a big section on drones used for medical, humanitarian and weather applications. On display is the Coyote Drone that can assess hurricanes at 400 feet, and is capable of traveling in 175 mph winds. Visitors will learn about the applications that make drones useful in agriculture, the delivery of medical supplies, tracking wildlife movement, and assessing wildfires.
Can you believe that drones have been used in arts and entertainment? On display will be the battery-operated Volantis, the world’s first-ever drone dress, TechHaus made the drone in collaboration with Lady Gaga for her first ever drone-dress that allowed her to hover three feet above the stage in a 2013 show. Since that astounding moment in entertainment, drones have also been used in Cirque du Soliel’s Sparked show.
There is also an exhibit with an interactive station where visitors can read live drone news as it is happening. And for the kids, a large cage has been set up in the exhibition hall where they can fly mini-drones without the fear of them disappearing among the many other drones in the museum.
Needless to say, but drones have integrated themselves into just about every aspect of our daily lives. Soon, we will be able to get our groceries or medicine delivered to our front door by a drone or expand on drone usage by monitoring traffic, apprehending criminals, well, you get it, the list is unbelievable.
The exhibit is a one-of-a-kind experience and anyone planning on visiting New York should take the time to visit the museum. The museum is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood on the West Side of Manhattan. For more information on visiting your visit, you can call (212) 245-0072, or visit the museum’s website HERE.
