Air Transportation Gallery Closing January 9 For New Exhibition Prep

The Air Transportation gallery at the National Air and Space Museum’s flagship building on the National Mall in Washington will close on Jan. 9, 2006, in preparation for a new exhibition the following year.

The gallery is home to an array of airplanes representing the development of early commercial air travel -- from the Douglas M-2 biplane, used for moving mail in the 1920s, to the forward fuselage of a 1950s Douglas DC-7 airliner, which has an interior accessible to visitors.

After the gallery closes, aircraft will still be visible over barriers erected on the museum’s first floor and from the gallery overlook on the second floor. Some of the airplanes are suspended level to the second floor.   

The exhibition "America by Air," opening in 2007, will present an expanded history of commercial air travel, from early attempts to form airlines only a few years after the invention of powered flight to the commercial challenges and technical sophistication of the 21st-century jet age.

Below are the events NASM has scheduled for January and February 2006 -- at either the National Mall flagship building, or the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

January

1/5, Thursday

Curator’s Choice, 12:30 to 12:45 p.m.

"The Space Shuttle Enterprise"

Valerie Neal, Space History Division

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, VA.

1/19, Thursday

Curator’s Choice, 12:30 to 12:45 p.m.

"Arado Ar 234 Blitz: The World’s First Operational Jet Bomber"

Tom Dietz, Aeronautics Division

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, VA.

1/28, Saturday

Milestones of Flight: Apollo 11 Family Day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

National Mall building

Touch a moon rock and learn how it got to Earth! See the command module Columbia from the Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission. Learn how the astronauts from this and other Apollo missions ate, worked and slept in space.

Special tours and activities will be offered in Spanish.

This event is made possible by the generous support of Northrop Grumman.

February

2/2, Thursday

Curator’s Choice, 12:30 to 12:45 p.m.

"Shuttle Radar Topography Mission – Mapping the Earth in the Global Age"

Martin Collins, Space History Division

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, VA.

2/11, Saturday

African American Pioneers in Aviation Family Day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

National Mall building

• Learn about the accomplishments of African American men and women who, despite the challenges of segregation at home and abroad, achieved great success. Find out how these pioneers have paved the way for future generations. Meet members of the Tuskegee Airmen, and listen to the music that was popular when they were in the air.

This event is made possible by the generous support of Northrop Grumman.

2/15, Wednesday

Curator’s Choice, Noon to 12:15 p.m.

"George Caruthers’s Telescope"

Black History Month Event

David DeVorkin, Space History Division

National Mall building

2/16, Thursday

Curator’s Choice, 12:30 to 12:45 p.m.

"Arlington Sisu 1A – First Sailplane to Fly 1,000 km"

Russell Lee, Aeronautics Division

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, VA.

2/22, Wednesday

Curator’s Choice, Noon to 12:15 p.m.

"Cornelius R. Coffey and African American Flight Training"

Black History Month Event

Jeremy Kinney, Aeronautics Division

National Mall Building

2/25, Saturday

African American Pioneers in Aviation Family Day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

• Talk with local Tuskegee Airmen, the famous African American pioneers in the skies. Learn how their determination and perseverance led to training programs and flying clubs. Also enjoy hands-on activities and story time for children ages 4-7 and their adult companions.

Ongoing Activities

Daily Museum Tours

Building on the National Mall and the Udvar-Hazy Center

Highlight tours are offered at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.  Participants meet at the Welcome Center.

Daily IMAX® Movies 

Movies at the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater on the National Mall:

• "Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D," narrated by Tom Hanks
• "Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag"
• "To Fly!"

Movies at the Udvar-Hazy Center:

• "Space Station"
• "To Fly!"
• "Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag"

Daily Planetarium Shows 

Museum on the Mall

• "Infinity Express, A 20-Minute Tour of the Universe," narrated by Laurence Fishburne
• "The Stars Tonight" (Free but ticketed)

Daily - How Do Things Fly?

Museum on the Mall

• Demonstrations and hands-on activities. Paper airplane contests. Schedule posted daily at the entrance to How Things Fly gallery.

Daily - Discovery Stations

Museum on the Mall and the Udvar-Hazy Center

• Hands-on activities and demonstrations located throughout the museum. Schedule available at the Welcome Center.

FMI: www.nasm.si.edu, For tickets go to www.smithsonian.org/IMAX