National Electronics Museum

This place is unbelievable! A real hidden gem.
Last weekend, a buddy of mine and I went to this place for an IEEE function. We had to walk through several display rooms to get to the meeting we were attending and were just blown away at the stuff here.
Many historical electronic devices. For anybody who’s seen «The Imitation Game» these guys have an ENIGMA machine here!
I don’t think you’ll need to be an electrical engineer to enjoy this place. It’s not very expensive, parking is free, and it just might inspire any a future little scientist in your family.
I’m taking my munchkins soon!

I flew into Baltimore and couldn’t meet my cousin actually my niece until after she got off work. so I looked around and found the National electronics museum. I don’t know what I expected, but I just have to investigate these small museums. now this one from the outside definitely has a military look with all the big radars and antenna out front. As it was created by people who were military contractors I expected maybe I’ll find all the junk that is no longer top secret. Well it seems that people who retire in this industry have devoted a huge amount of time to saving the history that they created in the electronics industry and the military industrial complex. So different types of radars are listed, displayed, explained, and done so in a very understandable way. It is quite enlightening. then they talk about types of radios and how they were used to solve various puzzles to defend England, America, our troops, and other bits of history. To examine the satellites used for communications and their history was likewise eye opening in that all of the explainations in this museum are definitely from a different a point of view and one might read in a sanitized history book. For instance when the Germans were bombing London they were using various frequency bands that used together gave them targeting system that they could use day or night. One ingenious fellow took to the problem. He investigated in the frequency bands that were not being used by our systems and found their targeting frequencies. Then created jamming to bring another signals to confuse their system. Oh yes, now that I bring it up there were displays about jamming, counterintelligence, and more things that protected our troops and equipment. Fascinating! This is a wonderful museum to investigate if you have some time it’s less than a couple miles from BWI and 5 bucks what a deal I enjoyed it a lot and will add it to my list of man you want to check this place out places

Well, if you are at all a physics or radio-​electronics buff such as myself, then you will likely love this quaint little museum.
This is the kind of place that I would never in a million years bother to travel out of my way to visit, but I ended up having to stay for two days at an airport hotel near BWI airport in Linthicum Heights, MD in late 2013 due to the interactions of snow with my planned air travel. One afternoon, while taking a walk in the area near my hotel, I stumbled upon this quaint and rather small museum. Actually, I first noticed the museum only because of the massive old WWII-​era radar microwave antennas prominently displayed on the lawn in front of the building — they can be easily seen from well over a block away.
If you are considering a visit to this museum, allow me to advise you up front that despite the fact that it bears the name «National Electronics Museum», the museum really does not reflect the full breadth and depth of the history of electronics in our world today. Rather, since this is a somewhat low-​budget small museum and a partly-​volunteer effort that has been largely funded by a major defense electronics contracting company, the contents of the museum facility, while nonetheless very interesting, are heavily slanted toward defense electronics (i.e., radar, military applications of radio and radar, etc.) and, to a lesser-​extent, toward aviation and space radio-​electronics (i.e., avionics, military aircraft avionics, satellite telecommunications, rocketry telecommunications, space communications, etc.).
As a result of all of these afore-​mentioned facts, the museum does not cover the full breadth and depth of the history of radio and electronics, and the simple fact is that were such a museum attempt to do so, it would of necessity require a building at least 6 times the size of the current building, and a budget at least 20 times that of the budget for this little museum as it currently stands today. So, this little museum is fine as it is, and very interesting, but it does not offer a really comprehensive overview of the history of radio and electronics, and that is okay!
My favorite experience: I loved the outdoor displays of radar and other large microwave antennas from across the history of radar and radio astronomy, including some rare non-​parabolic dish types, including curtain arrays!
Lastly, let me tell you clearly and firmly that you DEFINITELY will want to strictly avoid a visit to this quaint little place unless you are, deep in your heart, a geek, or a mad scientist, or a radio-​electronics buff, or a physics nut!

We took our Cousin Camp group on a Saturday Morningwith some hesitance, we have an age range from 5 to 11. The Museum did not disappoint at all. Each member of our party found things to educate, intrigue and enjoy.
There are many hands-​on displays and a great range of information from basic to rather technical.
Highly recommend a visit.

I went back with my son; we focused on the first two rooms. He really loved it. This further reinforces my previous review. A lot of specialized places (and you can’t get more specialized than a museum about radar and radar countermeasures) don’t bother trying to keep other family members (spouse, children) entertained, but the great intro displays here will really keep the whole family interested — even if you wander off and dig into the meat of the radar and other stuff.

Something for everyone. if you’re a nerd.
I’ve been meaning to go to this museum for months, but between the limited hours and my slothful habits, I’ve never gotten around to it. While the hours aren’t as dumb as fellow nerdy museum, the National Cryptologic Museum, HEM is only open on some lame-​ass weekday hours, or Saturday 10 – 2, but it’s free, so fair enough.
They made a good impression on me from the start, when the volunteer who greeted us at the door addressed both of us, not just my boyfriend, when talking about electronics. The museum starts with an exhibit explaining the basics of electricity, with plenty of hands-​on devices to demonstrate the various concepts. It’s very well done and wonderful for kids, or anyone else who doesn’t know much about the field.
Most of the exhibits relate to the use of technology in warfare or space exploration, which makes sense as the museum is underwritten by Northrop Grumman. Satellites, radar, radio and microwave devices are all on display with explanations about their function and use. In many cases, there’s a cutaway, so you can see the circuity/​vacuum tubes/​wiring. There was also a large exhibit on some… um. various jet fighter technologies I think? With names like HKKG-​2726-​FHJ or whatev? That were used on like military planes or something, I think? Yeah, I kinda blew straight through that one.
In addition to the demonstrations of electricity fundamentals, there are plenty of other participatory features, like a camera that lets you see yourself in Infra-​red, a chance to try out Morse code communication and other fun things to keep the shorteez entertained while you contemplate the first solid state radar device used in the Korean war.
From the enthusiastic volunteers eager to interpret displays to the homemade (and wonderfully so) displays, the HEM is obviously a labor of love. Sometimes, this lapses into straight-​up amaturishness, sometimes endearing, such as text placed behind the displays or captions dense with exclamation points. Other times, rampant misspellings left me thinking «C’mon guys, get it together. You’re electrical engineers. Surely you’re familiar with spellcheck.» It was also obvious that the museum was put together by industry insiders. One caption read like a grant proposal, hyping a radar device’s 37% increase in efficiency and 19% reduction in cost. Another caption for a military device bitterly lamented that Dick Cheney had killed the project, and though the company had sued for breach of contract, nothing had come of it.
The museum seemed small, but we spent 2.5 hours there, and this was after we both independently skipped the military planes section. There are plenty of things here to touch, to listen to, to manipulate, but the museum doesn’t sacrifice substance to interactivity. They have struck a balance between providing detailed information for the nerds while making sure it wasn’t all TL;DR for the n00bs. Honestly, I had a better time here than at the Air and Space museum. Make the effort to make it out the door at a reasonable time some Saturday, and check this place out.

Sunday, December 7 Pearl Harbor — At 7:02 a.m., two Army operators at Oahu’s northern shore radar station detect the Japanese air attack approaching and contact a junior officer who disregards their reports, thinking they are American B-​17 planes which are expected in from the U.S. west coast.
This brand new (in 1941) Westinghouse radar performed flawlessly to its design parameters. A same type radar is on display outside of the museum.
If you ever wanted to see real hardware, a comprehensive history and easy to understand technical explaination of military electronics of radar, communications, and electronic warfare for ground, air, navy and space applications under one roof, look no further than the Historical Electronics Museum.
Nestled near the BWI Airport (and near some really great crab cake restaurants) this museum provides a wealth of information that will fascinate both grade schoolers and electrical engineering PhD’s. I personally find this museum much superior to even the Smithsonian in providing real hardware as well as the explanations of the history and technical operations of the equipment.
What is even more fascinating is that much of the hardware there is still in operating condition. There is even an active ham radio club operating out of the museum under the call sign W3HEM.
The museum can also host lunches, dinners and parties. An interesting option for a Unilocal event…
I have been to this museum several times and am always fascinated with something different.
Best news is that this museum is free thanks to Northrop Grumman and the museum patrons and donors.
9 am to 3 pm Monday through Friday
10 am to 2 pm on Saturdays