Delegates will surely have fun at the Time Warner Cable Arena during the Democratic National Convention, but there are lots of other things to explore in Charlotte, North Carolina. The convention runs Tuesday, September 4, through Thursday, September 6.
Courtesy Shawn A. Dorsch
Carolinas Aviation Museum —
In 2009, shortly after takeoff from New York's LaGuardia Airport, a bird strike forced Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger to ditch this US Airways Airbus A320 in the icy Hudson River. The "Miracle on the Hudson" aircraft is now housed at Charlotte's Carolinas Aviation Museum.
Courtesy Shawn A. Dorsch
Carolinas Aviation Museum —
Issuing a Mayday call after birds hit the aircraft, Sullenberger told air traffic controllers that the flight had lost power in both engines.
Courtesy Shawn A. Dorsch
Carolinas Aviation Museum —
Officials, passengers and others praised crew members and first responders who acted quickly to minimize passengers' injuries in below-freezing temperatures in the Hudson. All 155 people on board the plane survived.
Courtesy Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture
Harvey B. Gantt Center —
"America I AM: The African American Imprint" at the Gantt Center focuses on 500 years of African-American history and how it has changed the nation.
Courtesy Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture
Harvey B. Gantt Center —
The museum features a jail-door key from the BIrmingham, Alabama, cell where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was held after leading civil rights protests in 1963.
Courtesy Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture
U.S. National Whitewater Center —
The U.S. National Whitewater Center offers more than 400 acres of outdoor action, including ziplines, kayaking, rafting, mountain biking and rock climbing. It played host to the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials for canoe slalom.
Courtesy US National Whitewater Center
U.S. National Whitewater Center —
The facility boasts the world's largest man-made whitewater river.
Courtesy US National Whitewater Center
U.S. National Whitewater Center —
The center has several ziplines, including Mega Zip and Canyon Zip.
Courtesy US National Whitewater Center
Discovery Place —
Got kids? Discovery Place is full of family-friendly, hands-on exhibits focusing on science and nature.
Courtesy Discovery Place
Bechtler Museum of Modern Art —
Countless Charlotte visitors have had their photo taken with the Firebird outside the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. The outdoor sculpture stands 18 feet tall, and it's covered with thousands of tiles of mirrored glass.
