Mission & History

Mission

History

The National Electronics Museum grew out of a Westinghouse Family Day in 1973. Robert Dwight, an employee of the Westinghouse Defense and Electronics Systems Center in Baltimore, Maryland and a key planner of Family Day, saw the event as an opportunity to display employee products that their families had previously not had the opportunity to see. Titled "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", three airborne radars, the AERO-13/AN/APQ-50, the AN/APQ-120 and the WX-200 respectively, were set out as examples of each era. Throughout the day, Mr. Dwight made the same observation: employees and their families were excited and proud to see the finished products of their work.
This excitement was shared by Mr. Dwight. He decided to actively pursue more radars and other electronic equipment to display to fellow colleagues. Enlisting the help of Jack Sun, a Westinghouse employee, formerly with the United States Air Force, Mr. Dwight wanted to acquire the radar from a BOMARC missile from the Department of Defense (DOD). This missile carried the AN/DPN-53, the first airborne pulse-doppler radar. The two men quickly ran into a dead end. According to the DOD, they could not obtain the BOMARC radar unless they were a legally qualified non-profit museum.

Robert Dwight

Both Mr. Dwight and Mr. Sun approached senior Westinghouse lawyer Butch Gregory for advice and aid in drawing up the papers necessary to create a legitimate museum. It was a long period before it was realized. Finally, in 1980 the National Electronics Museum was incorporated in the State of Maryland as a non-profit museum.

Westinghouse provided much needed support in the form of financial aid and storage facilities. In 1983, a 2,000 square foot space was dedicated to the museum at Airport Square III, near the present location. In 1986, this space was expanded to approximately 4,000 square feet. Previously operated with a volunteer staff, the museum hired its first professional staff member in 1989. In 1992 the museum relocated to its current location at Friendship Square.

Corporate support was continued by the Northrop Grumman - Electronic Systems after it purchased Westinghouse Defense and Electronics Systems Center in 1996. Plans for expanding within the current location were developed in 1998 and in 1999 the museum was closed for months while under construction. In September 1999, the doors were opened again to reveal a doubling in size to 22,000 square feet of indoor space, including a new events and meeting space, a new exhibition gallery, a climate controlled storage area, an exhibition laboratory, a conference room and a half an acre of outdoor exhibit space.

The museum continues to grow. In 2017 the newest permanent exhibit “Satellites Transforming Our Lives” opened after nearly a decade of development. Our temporary gallery offers exhibits that change twice yearly. Educational programming is increasing with new partnerships and significant attendance numbers. Our established events such as  Pioneer Camp, Electronica Fest, and Techno Swap Fest are offered on a yearly basis. The museum is engaging more student outside the museum with yearly attendance at STEM events throughout the region. The volunteer corps consists of over 50 people who regularly donate more than 5,000 hours a year.

As the founders envisioned it, the museum is a place for visitors to be exposed to technological achievements and advances. It also allows those people who have been involved with the objects to look back and share their accomplishments. The National Electronics Museum has evolved into an institution that not only appeals to engineers, but to students and the non-technical public as well. We offer people the opportunity to see and experience the "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" of the defense electronics industry.