Museums in San Diego
Report by Juergen H.
Cabrillo Monument
In the year of 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (see picture) set foot as the first European on what is now known as the West Coast of the United States of America. The Cabrillo monument museum tells about this exploration. The most interesting part of the small museum is the old instruments for navigation, because by using very simple instruments they found their way to the USA in the 16th century.
The Cabrillo Monument is located at southern Point Loma. Because of the location at the Pacific flyway for birds, Cabrillo National Monument is home for a huge variety of birds. Over 200 species have been recorded. When I was at the Cabrillo Monument, I saw a lot of birds. If you want to have additional information about the park, you can talk to the Park Rangers. I asked one about the birds and he told me interesting facts about the variety of birds.
In addition, there is a short hiking path where and you can visit the old Point Loma lighthouse and see how the lighthouse keeper lived here with his family. Furthermore, you have a great view; you could see Downtown San Diego on one side and the ocean on the other. Actually you can also see Mexico. I was there at sunset and it was amazing.
Cabrillo National Monument costs $5 per car (museum included) and is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The entrance station closes at 4:30 pm and all visitors must exit the park by 5:00 pm
Air and Space museum
If you are interested in the aeronautical developments throughout history from the very beginning of the airplanes to today, the Air and Space Museum is the place to go in San Diego. You can see a lot of original military and civilian aircrafts. Adult tickets are $18, students/seniors get a discount with ID. There are also flight simulators, but they are expensive. As an alternative, there is a 4D cinema for free in which they show four different short and funny movies about flying. The most impressive piece of the collection for me is the Apollo IX Command Module, which is a loan from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
USS Midway Museum
The USS Midway Museum is a museum inside an old naval aircraft carrier that served in the United States Navy for over 45 years. If you are on this ship, it is very impressive to think about, how the ship can swim without sinking. There are also jets and airplanes on the flight deck, where you can actually sit in the cockpits of some airplanes. All in all, it is very interesting to see a naval aircraft carrier from the inside, but if you are not that interested in airplanes and warships, it might be not that good for you. Tickets were $15 for students.
