National Air and Space Museum

The National Air and Space Museum is a division of the Smithsonian Institution, holding the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world. The museum’s main building is located on the National Mall just west of the US Capitol Building. It opened to the public in 1976 after thirty years operating out of separate facilities, being originally known as the National Air Museum before the advent of spaceflight. With its large collection of vehicles and artifacts, the museum was never able to display more than a fraction of its air and spacecraft at a time, so in 2003 the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy center was opened at Dulles International Airport to create additional exhibition and restoration space. Nevertheless, the museum’s National Mall building remains one of the most popular destinations in Washington, D.C.

• Learn about famous aircraft and the significant roles they played in history, in war and in peace
• See the rockets that carried men and equipment into space
• Discover the scientific principles that govern flight
• Take a trip to the stars in the Albert Einstein Planetarium

For more information, visit the official website at www.nasm.si.edu.