Aménagé sur une ancienne base aérienne militaire à seulement cinq kilomètres de la résidence du premier ministre, située au 24 de la promenade Sussex à Ottawa, le Musée de l’aviation et de l’espace du Canada s’intéresse particulièrement à l’histoire de l’aviation au Canada dans un contexte international — depuis ses débuts en 1909 jusqu’à nos jours.
Au fur et à mesure que la contribution du Canada à l’aviation a évolué pour embrasser la technologie aérospatiale, le Musée a élargi sa mission et enrichi sa collection pour englober la navigation spatiale. Cette collection comprend plus de 130 aéronefs et artefacts (hélices, moteurs) civils et militaires. Elle met particulièrement — mais pas exclusivement — l’accent sur les réalisations canadiennes. En outre, le Musée, qui possède la plus vaste collection d’aéronefs au Canada, est considéré comme l’un des plus beaux musées de l’aviation du monde.
Parmi les pièces de résistance du Musée figurent les plus grands éléments existants du célèbre Avro Arrow (son nez et ses deux bouts d’aile), le Canadarm d’origine de la navette spatiale Endeavour, le bombardier Lancaster de la Seconde Guerre mondiale et l’exposition Vivre en orbite : la station spatiale internationale.
Commodités
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Animaux de compagnie bienvenus
Faits amusants
The Canada Aviation and Space Museum first opened in 1960 at Uplands Airport in Ottawa. At that time, it presented only one of the three major aeronautical collections held by the Canadian government:
- The National Aviation Museum collection focused on bush flying and early aircraft manufacturers in Canada. (This was the collection displayed at Uplands.)
- The Canadian War Museum’s collection concentrated on military aircraft from the First World War to the 1950s.
- The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) collection emphasized military aircraft related to RCAF history.
In 1964, these three collections were combined into the National Aeronautical Collection. The amalgamated collection was housed in Second World War era hangars at Ottawa’s historic Rockcliffe Airport. This arrangement gave visitors a better perspective on the development and use of aircraft in Canada over the years. It proved to be tremendously popular.
The Museum joined with the National Museum of Science and Technology in 1967. The National Aeronautical Collection continued to acquire both military and civil aircraft important to Canadian and world aviation history. The collection was officially renamed the National Aviation Museum in 1982.
In 1988, the current Museum display building opened. Two years later, in 1990, the National Museum of Science and Technology Corporation was incorporated, which now operates as Ingenium: Canada’s Science and Innovation Museums. It included the National Aviation Museum and the National Museum of Science and Technology. The latter had by then become the Canada Science and Technology Museum. In 2000, the National Aviation Museum became the Canada Aviation Museum.
In 2005, the Museum building was supplemented by the Reserve Hangar. In 2010, when the Museum’s mandate grew to include aerospace technology, its name was officially changed to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.
Endroit
Canada Aviation and Space Museum, 11 Aviation Pkwy, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Itinéraire
