Museum of Technology

The Smithsonian Museum of Technology is one of the few more-or-less intact buildings on the National Mall. It is however unlikely to survive for much longer, as what is left of the structure is crumbling.

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.

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.

Atrium
The Smithsonian Museum of Technology is unlikely to survive for much longer, as whole sections of the building have long since collapsed, while the remaining accessible areas are collapsing, with pillars falling out of place and visible holes in the roof, and the attractions have been heavily damaged. Several exhibits however have, relatively survived intact the centuries following the Great War.

The Atrium is the prime example of how bad a shape this building is in. When entering one will notice the pillars and sections of the roof on the main floor. Heavily damaging the Wright Flyer exhibit, which has since fallen as well. To the both the east and west sides of the entrance are the remains of the firearm exhibits, these firearm exhibits where to be on display from August 14th until December 31st, 2077. At which point they were to be returned to the International Ordnance Museum.

The west side of the atrium directly past the firearms exhibit is the corner, behind the curved counter with terminals is a cornered desk with a Research Lead's Terminal. Along the west wall are two benches, in front of which is the roof rubble. Between the rubble and the wall in the corner is a RobCo Stealth Boy 3001 Description stealth boy pedestal exhibit.

The center floor of the atrium is taken by the fallen The Wright Flyer I, partially crushed by the fallen roof debris. to the east of which is the main reception counters. Directly to the south of this a Museum Information terminal kiosk. This kiosk is the first on Jigg's Loot. The receptionist counters are composed of two curved counters forming a circle, the center of which has a letter holder. On the counter are terminals, typewriters and various office desk clutter. Behind the receptionist counters is a Nuka-Cola Vending machine in the niche under the stairway and a fire hose box, in the southern corner is the doorway to the restrooms. Past the restrooms is the door to the small security room, which is just up the stairway behind the door.

The stairway to the security room is bloody, with a gore bag. the security room is a short long room with a window facing the atrium. Within which two terminals lie. One a Maintenance Terminal, the other a Turret Control System (for the two Mk 1 turrets). On the southwestern wall is a large console, while on the northern wall are filing cabinets. On the center of the counter in front of the window is a Sledgehammer. Directly in front of the stairway, on the mezzanine, is the U.S.S. Ebon Atoll's Flag exhibit, next to this is the Overlooked Inventors exhibit. Next to this is the hallway to the Halls of Today exhibit. After entering the  as teh hallway splits there are two benches with an display case in the middle, directly in front of the. As the hallway splits north and south, in the north corner is a RobCo Stealth Boy 3001 Description stealth boy pedestal exhibit. This one having two pedisils and stealthboys. After the split the hallway there are two more, both of which are completely collapsed. Continuing south on the mezzanine, are two more Museum Information keiosks. Past this, after the corner is the window of the Small Security Room, in front of said window are town benches. After which is the to the Vault exhibit. Continuing past this exhibit is not possible as the roof collapse has completely blocked accessing the rest of the mezzanine without traversing the Vault exhibit.

This fully operational partially automated exhibit is a testament to Vault-Tec construction. The first section of the exhibit is, of course a mock Vault entrance, the cavern entrance to be precise. The second section of the exhibit is the Vault door and entrance chamber, complete with door opening warnings. The third section is the hallway atop the stairway, detailing the lighting technology of the Vaults. The fourth section of the exhibit is the living section of a vault, it is on the north wall past the corner after the stairs. The fifth section of the exhibit, showcasing the Culinator 3000 Kitchen System on the western wall past the corner of the former section. Directly to the north of that section is the sixth exhibit, detailing the Entertainotron Room. Past this up the stairs is the seventh exhibit. This one featureing the security of a vault, the Eye-On-You Cameras. Past this section is a second Vault door exiting the exhibit. At the end of the exhibit, past the mock cavern, and before the is the tour guide area, where they would giveaway brochures. It has a large desk, small desk and a display case.

Upon exiting the Vault Tour is remainder of the mezzanine, the blockage on the east side prevents access to the rest of the mezzanine while continuing north leads to the door to the West Wing. At the end of the mezzanine, on the western wall.

West wing
The west wing features the Delta IX exhibit which features a full scale three-story tall Delta IX rocket and several terminals with information about the rocket. In the Delta IX exhibit, there are two secret rooms on the second and third floors accessed by walking on the railings that hug the stairs. These rooms contain some notable loot. Both hallways on the ground floor and the top floor lead to the Virgo II lunar lander exhibit which features the lunar lander. The hallway opposite the lander leads to the planetarium and a room containing "Far Out Space Facts!" terminals. The hallways also has a side door leading to the west wing security office.

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.
 * In the planetarium office, there is a Nuka-Cola Quantum on the shelf.

Related quests

 * Galaxy News Radio
 * Jiggs' Loot

Appearances
The Museum of Technology appears only in Fallout 3 and is mentioned through posters in Fallout: New Vegas.

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.
 * 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.