Smithsonian Air and Space Museum – Things to do in DC
Places to visit in DC: Tour to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is located on the National Mall. Open every day of the year except Christmas. Summer hours are from 10AM to 7:30 PM. Off season hours are from 10:00AM until 5:30PM. Handicapped accessible entrance on Jefferson Drive halfway between 7th Street and 4th Street SW. Another entrance is on Independence Avenue at 6th Street SW. Entrance to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is always free. Some activities in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum require payment. For example, there is a Planetarium and an Imax movie screen. There is also a flight simulator.
A visit to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is included on our Featured Tours.
The museum holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. Exhibits in the main atrium include the Wright Brothers first plane that flew at Kitty Hawk. Also, the Spirit of St. Louis, which was the first plane to fly across the Atlantic (by Charles Lindbergh). Also, the capsule that returned the astronauts to Earth from the Apollo mission to the moon. There are also numerous other aircraft hanging from the ceiling in the atrium as well as several American and Soviet rockets and missiles. The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum opened on July 4, 1976. The Smithsonian Air and Space museum operates an annex near Dulles Airport in Virginia, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which opened in 2003.
The main museum on the mall includes 61 aircraft, 51 large space artifacts, and over 2,000 smaller items. The website for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is: www.airandspace.si.edu/ For a list of current Imax and Planetarium schedules, click on: http://airandspace.si.edu/events/imax-planetarium/ The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is on the National Mall, and is not far from many other major museums.
Food is available for sale. The Wright Place Food Court offers menu items from McDonald’s, Boston Market, and Donatos Pizzeria. The café located upstairs offers coffee, pastries, and assorted food items.
