Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institute, also known as the Air and Space Museum, is a museum dedicated to the history, research, and display of airplanes. It was founded in 1946 as the National Air and Space Museum and opened its first building on the National Mall in then Maryland near the mall in 1976. It is one of the six World Heritage Sites in the United States. It has collections ranging from airplanes and space shuttles to aircraft carriers and historical aircraft.
You can visit the museum by a hop on the trains or buses that go to the museum from the different parts of the metropolitan area and around the country. From the various exhibits and collections inside the museum, you will surely get fascinated with their aviation history and the real stories behind the artifacts. In particular, the Air and Space Museum has a special division for its pilots and crew. This section is actually a classroom where interested students can learn about the importance of flying in our history and how the Wright brothers were pioneers of flight. Other areas in the museum include the capsules and interiors of the early airplanes.
There are capsules and shuttles that you can tour along with the astronaut, walking galleries where you can view photographs of some famous missions that the space exploration program had, and the Wright Brothers capsules that you can see on display. Other artifacts include the commando suit, the atomic bomb, the lunar module, and the finished aircraft. If you want to experience the history of aviation to the fullest, you should visit the Air and Space Museum with an experienced Smithsonian agent.
When you are visiting the museum, make sure you visit the Air and Space Museum first since it is considered to be the world's first museum to exhibit and display air and space exploration artifacts. The museum also has two other branches which are the Air & Space Museum Science Center and the National Air and Space Museum Gallery. The Science Center houses a small science laboratory where you can see replicas of actual artifacts found in space and on the moon. Meanwhile, the National Air and Space Museum Gallery houses two permanent exhibits including the Apollo 11 Space Shuttle and the Enterprise, as well as a collection of model airplanes, capsules, and other artifacts from various space explorations.
Another popular attraction inside the museum is its collection of aviation and space artifacts. The collection is split between two sections namely; the National Air and Space Museum's History Center and the National Air and Space Museum's Collection of Aviation Collections. The history section houses a wide assortment of aviation and space museum exhibits like the SR-71 Blackbird, the flown SR-71 spy plane, and the space shuttle Endeavour. On the other hand, the collection of aviation and space artifacts houses various aircraft like the Blue Danube, DC-3, Gulfstream, and Hawker Hunter planes. These collections also contain a collection of space shuttles and capsules that are continuously on display.
Another significant collection of aviation and space artifacts in the museum is the Air and Space Heritage Center. It houses artifacts collected over the years by NASA and the US Air Force. This section houses various artifacts such as the first B-1 bomber, the Mercury capsule, the control room for the Gemini space program, and the control room for the Apollo program. There are also artifacts from the first manned mission to Mars and the moon as well.
To complement the major exhibitions that are held at the museum, it also holds a number of special events that happen every year. The most prominent among these is the Smithsonian Gala which is attended by hundreds of invited guests and visitors. The venue is an open house that allows the public to tour the new building along with a guided tour of the science facilities and the space flight artifacts. This event is accompanied by a number of musicians and dance performances.
Apart from these activities, the museum began to exhibit aviation-related objects and artifacts in its newly renovated Mall. This massive reconstruction project of the mall includes two major venues, namely the Science Learning Center and the Air and Space Museum. The former occupies almost three times more space than the latter. The reconstruction plan was initiated with the construction of a new wing for the museum that will serve as a permanent home for all its collections as well as a place to exhibit aviation-related artifacts. The construction succeeded to a great extent as the museum began to exhibit a comprehensive range of aviation artifacts.
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