Air & Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) is the most visited of all the Smithsonian museums in Washington D.C. It is home to the world’s biggest collection of flight history memorabilia and flight science and technology artifacts. Hundreds of these artifacts are regularly on display. Visitors will even have the opportunity to view aviation milestones such as the original Wright 1903 Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis and the Apollo 11 command module.
In all, the exhibition galleries contain 61 aircraft and 51 large space objects including a lunar rock sample that visitors are allowed to touch. The Albert Einstein Planetarium and the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater both offer a relaxing, fun and educational break from browsing exhibits. Free docent-led tours are always an option.
Interesting Facts
- When flying first became a popular way to deliver mail, pilots used bonfires set along their routes to guide their planes.
- In the early half of the 1920s, when night flying wasn’t safe, airlines would offer their passengers the chance to fly by day and ride the plane at night.
- In 1911, Earl Ovington delivered the first piece of airmail by dropping a bag of mail overboard for the waiting postmaster to pick up.
- In 1929, a one-way ticket from coast to coast cost $338 dollars. A New Model Ford A cost a mere $525.
