Sky-High Ceilings

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the schooner C.A. Thayer has been rechristened following its $14M restoration.

The Thayer was taken out of the water and rebuilt at a former airplane hangar in Alameda. The project, said historian Steve Canright, “is a piece of wooden shipbuilding that has not been seen in this country since … World War I.” Canright is the historian for the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, which owns the ship.

From Associated Content, the latest in a string of alternative uses for hangars is an indoor park with a not-so-obvious theme: Charles Dickens.

Dickens World ride attractions will include the Haunted House of Ebenezer Scrooge, Fagin’s Den of Thieves, and The Great Expectations-themed boat ride based on the escape of Magwitch the convict. The $116 million project was the dream of theme park designer Gerry O’Sullivan-Beare in cooperation with the Dickens Fellowship. Former Fellowship joint secretary Thelma Grove acted as consultant on the theme park.
Dickens World is located in the port town of Chatham Maritime near Medway, where Dickens spent a portion of his childhood. Paradoxically, the park has been constructed inside a huge modern aluminum airplane hangar.Step inside and you’ll see a recreation of 19th century archways, cobblestone streets, and sewer; and you’ll be greeted by an assortment of actors portraying Dickens characters as well as a magnificent display of animatronic characters.

In a savvy and progressive intermingling of science and entertainment, NASA’s Ames Research Center recently hosted Yuri’s Night 2007 in honor of the first manned orbit of the Earth 46 years earlier.

Combining interactive exhibits, art displays, and music performances, NASA’s Bay Area celebration joined others around the globe in looking to the future while celebrating our intrepid past, all with an audience it may not have otherwise reached and inspired.

From Fake Science:

I showed up with friends a little on the early side and found myself at a downsized mixture of a technology expo, Burning Man, and a dance party. The event was contained in and around an airplane hangar, and attractions were spread out all over the floor of the inside space and surrounding tarmac. Inside were vending booths selling anything from water, funky clothing to food, as well as a slew of interesting demos.