Fiftieth anniversaries are always cause for celebration—especially when the entity marking the occasion is the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM).
The NASM, one of the most visited galleries in the world, opened to the public on July 1, 1976, as “a gift to the nation for the U.S. bicentennial,” according to its website. On July 1, the museum will open five new galleries to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States.
According to museum officials, the NASM displays the “world’s largest and most significant collection of aviation and space artifacts.”
New Galleries
There are 1,400 new items on display, and some 5,200 artifacts have been relocated and preserved during the massive renovation project that took a full eight years to complete.
The galleries opening on July 1 are:
- Flight and the Arts Center
- Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air
- U.S. National Science Foundation Discovering Our Universe
- RTX Living in the Space Age
- Textron How Things Fly
Expect to see newly displayed artifacts like the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket and the Il-2 Shturmovik along with familiar and visitor favorites like the North American P-51D Mustang and the Hubble Space Telescope.
For the younger visitors, the Textron How Things Fly exhibition offers hands-on experiences while the Flight and the Arts Center will open two inaugural exhibitions, including the temporary The Ascent of Rauschenberg: Reinventing the Art of Flight.
In addition, two more renovated galleries will be opening in the fall. At Home in Space is scheduled to debut on October 30, and Modern Military Aviation on Veterans Day (November 11).
The new galleries will be complemented by special programming throughout the year to celebrate the 50-year anniversary, which will include lectures, a film series, digital offerings, and special merchandise.
“The physical work on the project began with the first gallery closures at the end of 2018,” said Alison Wood, deputy director of communications for the NASM. “It was several years prior to that that the need for renovations was determined, which started a multi-year planning process for the renovations.”
The renovation project included a redesign of some 20 exhibition spaces and a refacing of the building’s exterior cladding, along with the replacement of outdated mechanical systems and needed repairs and improvements designed to help preserve and protect the priceless artifacts.
“With those needed changes, it was decided that all of the galleries would be redesigned or refreshed also,” Wood said. “That provided the opportunity to modernize each gallery, tell additional stories and reorganize the placement of the exhibitions within the building. The footprint of the building has not changed.”
“The visitor experience has changed with the renovation and brings more digital and mechanical interactives, new artifacts and old favorites and opportunities to tell more aviation and space stories in a new way,” she added.
