In 1955, Pan American World Airways sought to become the pre-eminent carrier for routes over the Pacific in part by recruiting Japanese-American stewardesses as ambassadors to the growing tide of world travelers. The airline established an Asian language base in Honolulu and also expanded its “one-world” globe-trotting fleet with a record-sized order of airliners—20 Boeing 707s and 25 Douglas DC-8s.

The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. remembers the role of the Japanese-American stewardesses who helped launch the Jet Age with an exhibition of memorabilia and period photographs.

The materials displayed, including uniforms, flight bags and scrapbooks, come from the exhibition “Airborne Dreams,” which recently closed at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii in Honolulu. Christine Yano, a Guggenheim Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum and an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Hawaii, served as curator for the exhibition. The Udvar-Hazy Center version of the exhibit will be on view for one year.

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center displays among its artifacts the larger icons in the museum’s collection, including the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the space shuttle Enterprise, a Concorde and the “Dash 80” Boeing 707 prototype—plus uniforms, aerial cameras, ballooning memorabilia and thousands of other smaller items. The Center is located in Chantilly, Va., near Washington Dulles International Airport off of Route 28 and is open daily from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Admission to the Udvar-Hazy Center is free, but there is a $12 fee for parking.