Please note: The museum is handicap-accessible, but the U.S.S. Growler and British Airways Concorde are not.

The Intrepid Museum can be an excellent resource for your paper, but a simple description of the museum fails to convey the thrill of stepping onto the decks of a ship that’s as long as three football fields and covered with some of the most impressive aircraft ever built. You’ll feel exhilarated and maybe intimidated. The scale of the scene seems too impressive to be the construct of human hands. Equally impressive is the fact that the men who operated the ship were able to accelerate an airplane (a multi-ton chunk of metal) from zero to 100 in less than two seconds.

The simple fact that the Intrepid is still afloat is a testament to the ingenuity and resilience of the American Navy. The ship has withstood several attacks, including hours on fire following the second of two kamikaze assaults. She has also survived several bombings and a torpedo strike. In short, even if you are scared of the water, or for that matter, of bombs, fire, and kamikazes, you’ll still feel safe on board the Intrepid.

The Intrepid was a working aircraft carrier in both World War II and the Vietnam War. It was decommissioned in 1974 and became a museum in 1982. The primary exhibit is, of course, the ship itself. On the top level are many of the aircraft from its days of service. Inside the ship, displays range from early flight to early submarines, to the development of the space program.

Also docked at Pier 86 are the U.S.S. Growler and British Airways Concorde. The Growler is the only guided missile submarine in the world open to the public. The Concorde Alpha-Delta is one of a fleet of the fastest commercial jets in the world with a speed of Mach 2.4. Both of these exhibits are included with your paid admission to the Intrepid. At these exhibits are plenty of museum representatives that will be helpful in answering any questions you may have about them. While you are at the Intrepid be sure to visit the interactive exhibit Kamikaze: Day of Darkness, Day of Light. This immersive exhibit lets you experience what it might have been like aboard the Intrepid during a kamikaze attack. Watch the show and learn about the two men featured, find out which one of them lived to tell the tale of that infamous day. Tours are available on a limited basis of the Intrepid herself. Ask the people at the Information Desk for availability. Intrepid’s newest film The Intrepid (a catchy title) is meant to introduce you to the experience of the Intrepid when she was in service.

There are several “hidden” resources that the museum will be offering in the future. Among these is a research library, upcoming programs like their Power of One Series in which eminent speakers come to talk to teens about tough issues and great experiences, and a Curator’s Corner that will allow visitors to the museum to become informed about specific exhibits right from the Curator’s mouth! The staff is more than happy to work with you. You may even be lucky enough to bump into a former crew member during your visit! To find out more about these programs or to set up an appointment to get in touch with a staff member, e-mail education@intrepidmuseum.org.