Museum of Technology
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The Smithsonian Museum of Technology[1] is a building in the ruins of Washington, D.C., on the east side of The Mall. It is only a short distance away from the eastern Museum Station metro exit.
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[edit] Background
The Smithsonian Museum of Technology is one of the few more or less intact buildings in the National Mall. However, it is not likely to survive for much longer, as the building is crumbling, with pillars falling out of place and visible holes in the roof, and the attractions have been heavily damaged.
Several exhibits have survived the years following the nuclear firestorm of 2077. The original plane successfully flown by the Wright Brothers (the Wright 'Flyer') is the airplane that is on the floor, smashed, just inside the museum. Deeper inside the museum, one can find two more airplanes. Hanging from the ceiling in the same room as the Virgo II lunar lander is a Mustang. This airplane is also on display by the Capitol Preservation Society in Rivet City. In the West Wing of the museum, partially buried in the rubble is a fighter jet (the same model as the jets resting on the deck of the Rivet City aircraft carrier).
By far the biggest attraction is a demonstration Vault-Tec Industries Vault on the second floor which the player must go through in order to get to the Virgo II lander. It serves as a demonstration of what Vault life would be like and displays the various technologies used by Vault-Tec in constructing the Vaults. It consists of a hallway with windows that show examples of different Vault sections. The rooms of the exhibit include a bedroom, kitchen, and classroom. Next to the windows are speakers which play recorded messages:
Vault-Tec welcomes you to our new line of subterranean vaults featuring our patented Triple-S Technology.
Triple-S Technology is Vault-Tec's convergence of the three most important parts of apocalyptic endurance: Safety, Survivability and Sanitation!
Sleep in quiet comfort knowing that our impenetrable vault doors can withstand a direct hit by an atomic bomb with only a projected 2% failure rate.
Being underground got you down? Smile! Our SimuSun Lighting mimics the feeling of being outside with only a fraction of the sunburn potential.
The living actions make use of our revolutionary Floorsuck Autocleaner System for those darned messy kids. Never sweep again!
Moms will love how our Culinator 3000 Kitchen System makes cooking a breeze. Mmmmm, I can smell the muffins baking now!
Bored? Don't be! Step into our Entertainotron Room and watch the latest holotapes or perhaps listen to a symphony. Another Vault-Tec innovation!
Concerns about security? Our Eye-On-You Cameras enable the Vault's leader to watch your every move. You'll never be alone again!
Should the unlikely event arise that the planet is laid to waste, you'll feel happy knowing your family will be safe in a Vault-Tec Vault.
We hope you've enjoyed our tour today. If you have any further questions, please take a brochure from our helpful Vault-Tec guides.
Two exhibits on the ground floor near the Delta rocket celebrate the first human space flight of Carl Bell as taking place on May 5, 1961 in the space capsule Defiance 7.
There is a control room to the south, up the (southernmost) stairs in the back, its windows visible from the entry hall, behind a wire mesh most likely installed by Derek Remmings, Maintenance Coordinator in 2077. The Maintenance computer to the east has a list of log entries by Remmings as his officious plans are thwarted one by one by his fellow employees.
[edit] Layout
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[edit] Atrium
The Type 1861 "Springfield" Rifle-Musket was the standard weapon for the infantry soldier in the American Civil War. It was a muzzle-loaded weapon which fired a .58 caliber "Minie Ball" using percussion caps instead of the traditional flintlock. Almost a million of these weapons were manufactured for the soldiers during the war.
On loan from the International Ordnance Museum, these cases display the various types of weapons and ammunition used by the military in past conflicts all over the globe.
These portraits created by the renown Contemporary Artist Lincoln Mayers depict some of the more overlooked American Inventors. From top to bottom, left to right: Richard G. Drew (adhesive tape, 1925), James Ritty (cash register, 1879), Carl C. Magee (parking meter, 1935), and Mary Anderson (windshield wiper, 1903).
The medals in this case were typically awarded to American pilots in World War II. From left to right, top row to bottom: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy Cross, Air Medal, Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart.
This is the actual USSA Deep Space Suit worn by Captain Carl Bell on May 5, 1961. Captain Bell is credited as being the first human in space on board the Space Capsule Defiance 7, but this has been constantly refuted by both the Soviet Union and China. Defiance 7's flight lasted for a total of 12 minutes and 7 seconds as it achieved one full revolution around the Earth.
This is the actual skeleton of Captain Carl Bell who died on May 5, 1961 after his Space Capsule crash landed. Captain Bell is credited as being the first human in space on board the Space Capsule Defiance 7, but this has been constantly refuted by both the Soviet Union and China. Defiance 7's flight lasted for a total of 12 minutes and 7 seconds as it achieved one full revolution around the Earth. Donated by Edwina Bell.
This is a scaled model of a prototype military transport vehicle being developed by the U.S. Military. The XVB02 "Vertibird" is a VTOL ("Vertical Take Off and Landing") craft with an extremely durable armored fuselage and can be armored with a variety of offensive weapons and defensive countermeasures. This is the most advanced aircraft of its kind ever developed, and the military hopes to press them into service by 2085.
This flag was recovered from the wreck of the U.S.S. Ebon Atoll, a U.S. Navy Missile Cruiser, sunk off the coast of Alaska in 2066 with all hands lost. The cutting edge vessel's loss was due to a nuclear torpedo strike from the U.S. Navy Submarine, the U.S.S. Interference during the Anchorage Campaign. The submarine mistook the cruiser for an enemy vessel during radio silence and sunk it before obtaining vessel confirmation. This ranks as one of the most tragic disasters in U.S. Naval History since World War II.
The aircraft above is the original Wright Flyer I designed by Orville and Wilbur Wright. On December 17, 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the vehicle preformed its maiden flight for a mere 12 seconds, covering a distance of only 120 feet. This historic event marked the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight.
Perhaps the most well-recognized weapon in the modern U.S. Military arsenal, the M199 earned its nickname "The Backtalker" from the unusual report the firing mechanism makes as it ejects a spent shell. Firing standard 5.56mm rounds, the M199 is still the official infantry weapon of the U.S. Army.
On loan from the International Ordnance Museum, these cases display the various types of weapons and ammunition used by the military in past conflicts all over the globe.
This is the only known prototype of the X277 "Viper" Magnetic Rail Cannon developed for the U.S. Military by West-Tek. Also commonly referred to as a "Railgun", the weapon uses energy cells to propel a depleted uranium round across a series of magnets discharging it at extremely high velocity. Deemed too costly to produce on a mass scale, the project was abandoned inn 2044.
On loan from the International Ordnance Museum, these cases display the various types of weapons and ammunition used by the military in past conflicts all over the globe.
This is the RobCo "Stealth Boy" Model 3001 Personal Stealth Device. Developed by Robert Mayflower, the Stealth Boy generates a modulating field that transmits the reflected light from one side of an object to the other making the bearer almost invisible to the untrained eye.
[edit] West Wing
For as long as history has been recorded, man has had an insatiable hunger for knowledge regarding the universe.
To understand why man is so interested in this unknown expanse of space around our little world, we must take a journey.
Please, sit back, relax and free yourself from the bonds of our planet as we take off for the stars! [bzzzzt!]
[edit] Notable loot
- A Nikola Tesla and You skill book can be found on the second floor of the atrium, in the turret control room on the right of the Maintenance computer.
- There are three Stealth Boys on display in the museum, complete with little plaques describing them: one in the main entrance of the atrium (southwest corner), and two more up the main stairs to the left in the entry room leading to the 'Halls of Today' exhibit. The Stealth Boys are much bigger than normal Stealth Boys found out in the wasteland.
- There are two hidden areas in room with the multi-level staircase surrounding the Delta IX rocket. Starting from the lower floor, go up the stairs to the second floor, you will see two consoles that say 'Activate Delta IX rocket'. Just to the left of both consoles is a plaque, and to the left of that is the railing that guides its way to a thin ledge on the outside of the stairs for the third floor. At each gap, instead of going up the stairs (2nd floor stairs, and 3rd), jump up onto the room railing, then down onto the little ledge that runs along the outside of the stairs. Follow the ledge to each hidden area.
- The first area has a mine box, an assault rifle and a bed.
- The second area is actually a blocked off room, which contains a Guns and Bullets skill book in the corner. This section also contains two Nuka-Cola bottles which are unique by their size which is smaller than a usual Nuka-Cola bottle. These bottles are also beside some medicament such as purified water, etc. If you have a companion, he or she may warp into the room after you get there, and warp back out when you leave.
- In the planetarium office, there is a Nuka-Cola Quantum on the shelf.
[edit] Related quests
[edit] Jiggs' Loot
In the atrium there is an unlit "Museum Information" terminal inside the translucent cowls usually used for telephones. It displays, below the usual menu items, a message from Prime to Jiggs, beginning the minor quest about a weapons cache in the security office (west of the Planetarium) safe.
Properly entering codes at this terminal and two other "Museum Information" terminals activates a password which is automatically entered when the terminal near the safe is accessed, unlocking the safe. The second password terminal is in the West Wing, and the third by the rocket; see the Jiggs' Loot article for locations and passcodes.
The immediate reward inside the safe is the key to the gun cabinet in the planetarium office, containing a missile launcher, some missiles, and 2 pulse grenades. There is a further, greater, reward; Prime's corpse, with the Xuanlong assault rifle, only spawns if the three correct numbers are chosen.
[edit] Galaxy News Radio
In exchange for information about your father, Three Dog requests that you do a little favor for him. You must recover a satellite dish from the Virgo II Lunar Lander in order to broaden the station's signal, as the one on top of the Washington Monument was destroyed. If successful, Galaxy News Radio can be broadcast over the rest of the Wasteland instead of it being limited to just the D.C. area.
[edit] Notes
- Occasionally, the P-51 Mustang may be found broken into pieces, some having landed on the floor and some floating in air. This may be in response to the tcl command on PC, or it may be caused by weapons damage on the plane (such as a missile launcher).
- The Virgo II Moon landing mission's lunar lander on display in the museum illustrates the gradual divergence of the Fallout universe with the real one. The lunar lander module that we see in the game is called Valiant 11, while in the real world, it was called the Eagle and belonged to the Apollo 11 Moon landing mission. Also, the design of the lander in the museum is not that of the NASA LEM (Lunar Excursion Module), but that of the Soviet LK or Lunniy Korabl (Lunar Lander) as seen here. The names of the astronauts who made the first landing are different than those in our universe.
- The date Carl Bell became the first American in space is the date of the flight of the first real American in space, Alan Shepard, aboard the Freedom 7 Mercury 3 capsule. Note that Shepard did not orbit the earth and that his sub-orbital flight lasted only fifteen minutes. In our real-world timeline, the first human spaceflight was Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961, aboard which Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made one orbit around the Earth.
- In one of the exhibits around the rocket, we can see the American flag that was supposedly recovered from the site of the original Moon landing by the crew of the last mission to go there. The flag is not the Star Spangled Banner of our world, but rather the "Commonwealth flag", as the US was divided into 13 regional commonwealths some time between the end of the Second World War and the Virgo II's landing in 1969 and the flag was changed.
- Through the Planetarium there are 3 terminals with "Far Out Space Facts"
- The presentation Vault's door is rolled behind the Vault wall; the number is only visible through a crack; when inspected using console commands reveals it to be Vault 106.
- Several gun and armor exhibits scheduled both before and after 2077, including laser pistols and power armor and "antique" weapons, are alluded to in the Research Lead notes and Lead Curator (Security terminal) notes, and a sub-basement with three fusion generators in the maintenance coordinator's notes, but neither armaments exhibits nor the sub-basement can be found in the museum.
- In the atrium, inside the first stall of the men's bathroom, a microfusion cell trap can be found. Inside the toilet's water tank are 35 MCF cells.
- As already mentioned in the "Notable Loot" section, this museum contains two Nuka-Cola bottles which are unique by their size. They are smaller than a usual bottle of Nuka-Cola.
[edit] Appearances
The Museum of Technology appears only in Fallout 3.
The same Museum of Technology posters from Fallout 3 can be found in Fallout: New Vegas. One in particular can be found in the weather monitoring station in The Fort.
[edit] Behind the scenes
- The Museum occupies the real-world site of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.
- On a semicircular desk in the atrium, a number of pencils and one bottlecap are arranged to form the logo of the gaming news website Shacknews [1].
- The narration of the curtailed planetarium show is an impersonation of the famous astronomer Carl Sagan.
- A flag on the lobby balcony references a destroyed ship named Ebon Atoll, which is likely a reference to Black Isle Studios. They note it was "torpedoed" (lit. sabotaged) by a friendly.
- There is a reference to L.A. death/industrial metal band Fear Factory. There are two separate computer terminals, one in the lobby and one in the planetarium, where you can access the research lead's notes. The first journal entry contains lyrics from Fear Factory's song "Archetype", and "Burton C. Bell" (the research lead's name) is the name of Fear Factory's lead singer.
- In the room with the lunar lander, there is a terminal which provides information about various exhibits. For the Flight Exhibit, it states that it is sponsored by Lockreed Industries. This is a reference to the Lockheed Martin Corporation, a company which manufactures military aircraft.
- In the atrium on the first terminal involved in the Jigg's Loot quest, there is a list of upcoming exhibits and presentations. Among these is information on a lecture called "Oppenheimer"s Folly" being presented by a prof. R.J. Gumbie. This is a reference to a recurring group of characters on Monty Python's Flying Circus. All these characters have a first and middle initial along the lines of R.J. or R.M. and the last name Gumby, have the title of professor, wear bizarre clothing, and have very severe brain damage, leaving one to question how they got their titles in the first place. It is unknown whether the professor giving the presentation had the latter two commonalities, or if the only similarity is the name.
[edit] Gallery
Poster for the Museum
Image from the Prepare for the Future teaser site
Image from the Prepare for the Future teaser site
Entrance to the Vault display.
Closer inspection reveals it being Vault 106.
Kitchen
Living section
