National Air and Space Museum DC

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in DC

The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the NASM, is a museum in Washington, D.C.. It was established in 1946 as the National Air Museum and opened its main building on the National Mall near L'Enfant Plaza in 1976. In 2016, the museum saw approximately 7.5 million visitors, making it the second most visited museum in the world, and the most visited museum in the United States.

The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC has thousands of objects on display, including the 1903 Wright Flyer, Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, and a lunar rock you can touch. In addition to exhibition galleries, we can visit the Albert Einstein Planetarium, Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater, and the Public Observatory on the east terrace.

The museum contains the Apollo 11 command module, the Friendship 7 capsule which was flown by John Glenn, Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the Bell X-1 which broke the sound barrier, and the Wright brothers' plane near the entrance. It also is home to the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies.

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum collects, preserves, studies, and exhibits artifacts, archival materials, and works of art related to the history, culture, and science of aviation and spaceflight and the study of the universe.

There are many things to do at the Museum in DC

Ø  Daily tours and educational activities for both children and adults.

Ø  Scheduled lectures and events throughout the year

DC Space Museum Fun Facts :

Ø  The Museum is the largest of the Smithsonian's 19 museums and its Center for Earth and Planetary studies is one of the Institution's nine research centers.

Ø  More than eight million people a year visit the Museum's two locations, making it the most visited museum in the country. Since it opened in 1976, the Museum has welcomed 311 million visitors.

Ø  The Museum's collection encompasses some 60,000 objects ranging in size from Saturn V rockets to jetliners to gliders to space helmets to microchips. Fully one-third of the Museum's aircraft and spacecraft are one-of-a-kind or associated with a major milestone.

The Apollo Lunar Module originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program by Grumman Aircraft to carry a crew of two from lunar orbit to the surface and back.

The North American X-15 was a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set speed and altitude records in the 1960s, reaching the edge of outer space and returning with valuable data used in aircraft and spacecraft design. The X-15's official world record for the highest speed ever recorded by a manned, powered aircraft, set in October 1967.

How to Reach : Located in Washington, DC, on the National Mall between the U.S. Capitol and the Smithsonian Castle. Bordered by Independence Avenue, Jefferson Drive, and 4th and 7th Streets, SW.

Address: 600 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20560

National Air and Space Museum Hours : 10:00 am to 5:30 pm  and Admission is Free.