Find Hotels Near Wright Brothers National Memorial Kill Devil Hills

Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills , North Carolina is a tribute to the Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, who made the first successful powered airplane flight on December 17th, 1903. The memorial was established in 1927 by an act of Congress and President Calvin Coolidge. It is situated atop a hill overlooking the site at which the brothers conducted their famous experiments leading up to their historic flight. The area around the memorial has been preserved as an area of national significance, with over 400 acres comprising a visitor center, gift shop, and large open space featuring sand dunes and shrub land.

The main section of the monument features two 60' granite markers that mark the exact spot from which the Wrights launched their plane. There are also statues of Wilbur and Orville that commemorate this momentous occasion in aviation history. The sculptures were commissioned by John D. Rockefeller Jr., in 1932 and were sculpted by Stephen Hinton. There is also a bust of Octave Chanute, a French-American engineer who helped to advance the development of aviation with his research on stability and control in airplanes.

The Visitor Center at Wright Brothers National Memorial offers interactive exhibits about aviation history, early aircraft designs and engine mechanics among other topics related to powered flight technology. Visitors have access to reproductions of some of the Wrights’ original gliders and planes that were used during their experiments as well as numerous artifacts from their era such as diaries, letters, photographs etc.. There is also an auditorium where visitors can watch a documentary film about man's efforts to fly through history until today's modern aircrafts take off from airports all over the world.

In addition to learning about manned aircrafts there are also several outdoor activities available for visitors at Wright Brothers National Memorial such as hiking trails for exploring wildlife or taking leisurely strolls through sand dunes around Jockeys Ridge State Park nearby. Additionally there are interpretive programs held throughout the year providing visitors with insight into local wildlife species native to Kill Devil Hills area like loggerhead turtles or ospreys which nest nearby during summer months; bird watching is especially rewarding during these times when many migratory birds use this stopover point along their journeys down south for winter season.