National Electronics Museum (Linthicum Heights, MD)

In a nondescript building near BWI is the National Electronics Museum, incorporated in 1980 primarily as a way to display defense-related electronics from the former Westinghouse (now Northrop Grumman) facility nearby, including airborne radars and a radar for the BOMARC supersonic missile (the first long-range anti-aircraft missile).

By 1983 the museum had its first permanent facility staffed by volunteers, with the first full-time staff hired in 1989. Today it is in a 22,000 square foot facility with outdoor exhibits and meeting spaces.

Inside the Museum

The first gallery in the museum covers the principles of electricity and magnetism upon which these devices are based. Subsequent galleries then delve into the invention of modern communications "at the speed of light," starting with the telegraph in 1835.

Much of the rest of the museum is devoted to mechanisms to detect enemy ships, planes, and missiles, including radar, sonar, and space-based systems. Countermeasures (jamming) are also covered in one gallery.

It takes about an hour to go through the exhibits.

Getting There

National Electronics Museum

1745 West Nursery Road

Linthicum Heights, MD 21090

410-765-0230

http://www.nationalelectronicsmuseum.org

Hours: 9 AM - 4 PM Mon - Fri; 10 AM - 2 PM Sat

Admission: $5 adults, $3 students/seniors, kids under 5 FREE

Directions: Take MD-295 (Baltimore-Washington Parkway) to West Nursery Road. Go south on West Nursery Road through 3-4 stoplights and turn left on Elm Road just after the Marriott Hotel. The museum is on the corner and free parking is on the side and the end of the building.