Beyond MoCo

The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will host its annual “Innovations in Flight Outdoor Aviation Display,” Saturday, June 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors will be able to view over 50 vintage, modern and commercial aircraft that will fly in for the day and be on display outside the museum. Aircraft scheduled to appear include a C-17 from the 514th Air Mobility Wing; a Bell UH-1 Iroquois from the 1st Helicopter Squadron; aircraft from the Naval Test Pilot School such as a T-6B Texan II, Bell H-58 and C-26 ASTARS III; and a variety of civilian aircraft. Free passes are required to view the outdoor display and can be reserved on the museum’s website.

“Innovations in Flight Outdoor Aviation Display” will explore the engineering and design achievements of the past century of flight. Visitors can talk with pilots and explore the aircraft’s cockpits and cabins. In addition to the outdoor aircraft display, museum educators will lead visitors in plane spotting aircraft landing at Washington Dulles International Airport and teach them how to spot and identify aircraft from anywhere. Visitors will also be able to use social media filters to transform into iconic pilots from aviation history.

For the first time in 16 years, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Washington, D.C., is celebrating the birth of three meerkats. Keepers in the Small Mammal House reported for duty the morning of May 10 and observed that 5-year-old Sadie had given birth overnight. NZCBI had received a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP) to breed Sadie and the pups’ 6-year-old father Frankie. These pups are the first offspring for Sadie; Frankie sired offspring previously at his former zoo. Meerkats live in groups called mobs that can include as many as 30 individuals, although the average mob size is around 10 to 15 individuals. Visitors can view NZCBI’s meerkat mob—which also includes Sadie’s sister, Stella—at the Small Mammal House.

In the wild, meerkat pups typically remain in an underground burrow for about three weeks. To encourage the meerkats to exhibit their natural burrowing behavior, a system of tubing—concealed within rockwork—runs along the outskirts of their habitat in the Small Mammal House. At the end of the tunnel, a nest box offers visitors a view of the meerkats’ underground sleeping chamber. The day Sadie gave birth, she surprised keepers by bringing her pups into the main exhibit space.