Celebrate National Aviation Week at the Air & Space Museum

August 13-19th is National Aviation Week, and it’s a great occasion to reflect on our love affair with flight.

I’ve previously written about the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport, part of the Smithsonian Institute, and this week is a good time to mention the other location of the National Air and Space Museum, this one on the National Mall in Washington DC.  Between the two locations, the Smithsonian now displays the largest aviation and space collection in the world.

The Mall location has 22 exhibition galleries, divided between air and space, showing off some pretty great stuff.  Several of the popular favorites are my favorites as well:  the Spirit of St. Louis, Columbia (the Apollo 11 command module), the 1903 Wright Flyer (how did it ever get off the ground?), Friendship 7 from the Mercury program, and of course, the infamous moon rocks. 

There’s lots more to see, and to help you plan out your time, you may want to refer to the maps and guides available for download.  I’d recommend allowing a couple of hours for a leisurely pace through the Museum, more if you’re planning on taking in a movie, less if you’re only doing space or only doing aviation.

The Air & Space Museum is located on the National Mall, Independence Avenue at 6th Street SW (between the Capitol Building and the Smithsonian Castle),  and can be reached via Metro:  Smithsonian (blue/orange lines) and L’Enfant Plaza (blue/orange/yellow/green lines).  The museum is open daily (except Christmas Day) from 10 a.m. to 5:30 pm.  There is no admission charge. 

Photo credits:  National Air & Space Museum

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