Located just outside of Amsterdam, in the city of Lelystad, is the Aviodrome, the venue used for Battle City 2004.
The Aviodrome is one of Europe’s premier museums of aviation, and houses planes, documents, and every imaginable thing related to Dutch air travel. Military planes, passenger planes, and everything in between—if it happened in aviation in the past one hundred years, it’s likely on display here.
Originally located on the grounds of Schiphol Airport, the museum was moved to Lelystad as a result of changing needs and grounding issues. The new location was larger, more accessible, and freed up the administration to make the most of the historical relics and information at their finger tips. The Aviodrome is a remarkable facility that emphasizes interactivity. Many of the planes on site can not only be seen, touched, studied, and photographed, but also entered and explored in full.
The museum consists of a central building and two extra buildings. The first is a rebuilt version of the Netherlands’ first airport, built in the latter half of the twentieth century. It houses information, photographs, flight gear, displays, and entire aircraft primarily from the 1930s, and upon entering the building one feels as if they’re entering that time period, due to the attention to detail and focus of the museum’s coordinators. The second building, a large green hangar, contains military aircraft from the past century.
Not up for walking? The Aviodrome features an Imax theatre that shows aviation history films on a regular basis. Not only is it the only Imax screen in Lelystad, but it’s the largest single movie screen in the entire country.
If the movies, interactive displays, and portals to the past aren’t enough to get you to check out the Aviodrome, how about competition? Though Yu-Gi-Oh! is new to the venue, the museum regularly hosts rocketry contests for enthusiasts of the explosive sport.
If you’re going to be in the Netherlands in the near future, check out the Aviodrome’s website and make some plans to visit. You can find more information at www.aviodrome.nl.