Our friends, Lee and Margaret, arrived last night and for their first (and rainy day), we hit two diverse yet equally interesting museums.

I knew the boys would love exploring this 16,000 square foot building. The Engineering Museum houses hundreds of metalworking projects, exhibiting outstanding craftsmanship at the small end of the size scale. Surprisingly, Margaret and I were intrigued, too.

The history was very informative. Young Park's 1/16 scale Corsair was sought by both the San Diego Aerospace Museum and the Smithsonian, but ultimately Mr. Park donated it here, along with his newly completed P-51 Mustang.

And how cool is this 1935 Pacemaker Aircraft? It was once said that its creator, Irwin G. Ohlsson, was the Henry Ford of the model airplane engine business.
This ship collection is just a part of 307 ship models built in 1:600 scale by William Tompkins starting when he was in his early teens. The models attracted the attention of the US Navy in the lead-up to WWII due to their uncanny accuracy, representing details that were at the time classified as secret. He had modeled them simply by observing ships in Long Beach harbor, even though no photography was allowed at the time. The models were brought to San Diego where young Mr. Tompkins met with Navy officials. His models were used during the war to help our sailors identify different classes of ships. Because of his skills and imagination, Mr. Tompkins was inducted into the Navy at age 17 where he served in 4 years on the staff of an Admiral who was commander of Naval Intelligence. He was also trained as a naval airman. After leaving the service he went on to work for Douglas aircraft where he served as engineering section chief for 12 years. He also worked with North American Corporation Space Systems, TRW Space and General Dynamics, marketing to the Navy, Air Force, NASA, and Army on advanced space systems at the corporate level. At General Dynamics he worked at the top level on the "Red Team" working with the armed services at the corporate level as well. In an engineering capacity, his ideas were also instrumental in getting the Apollo space program on track and successful. All this resulted from the models he started building as a teenager.




I was intrigued by the famous Do Nothing Machine. Begun in the late 1940s by Lawrence Wahlstrom, this fanciful machine eventually included over 745 gears and mechanisms all moving at once to produce...nothing. Even so, people find it fascinating to watch. Variously called a "Flying Saucer Detector" or a "Smog Eliminator" by its inventor, it achieved a level of fame in the 1950s being seen in magazines like Life, Popular Mechanics and Mechanix Illustrated. It was also featured on TV including shows hosted by Garry Moore, Art Linkletter and Bob Hope. Wild stuff, right?

A fun visit was to the Dollhouse Room, a collection on loan from the San Diego Miniature Crafters Club.
My favorite was “Feelin’ Groovy” by Buff Greaney. The trailer was inspired by a picture from a magazine. The pictured trailer was used to sell things at swap meets in the LA area. This trailer started life as an RV but with careful attention it was crafted into an airstream style trailer with a hand painted exterior. The inside was created entirely from the imagination of Buff who worked to make it shabby chic. The cozy interior is filled with handmade items from the woven wicker chairs to lights and bedding. it’s practically timeless in its invitation to sit, relax and enjoy what life has to offer!

We all agreed that we could visit this museum again and still not see all the amazing items in its collection. Impressive indeed!