The Smithsonian's National
Air and Space Museum celebrated the centennial of flight
with the new exhibition, "The
Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age,"
which opened to the public Oct. 11, 2003. Visitors experience a
thorough presentation of Wilbur and Orville Wright's biography,
their technical achievements and the cultural impact of their
breakthrough in the decade after 1903. The centerpiece of
the gallery is the original 1903 Wright Flyer, displayed
at eye level for the first time since it was acquired by the
Smithsonian Institution in 1948. This provides the public with a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to study up close the intricate workings of the
world's first airplane. A companion book to the exhibition
has been published by the museum in conjunction with National
Geographic.
Also to mark the centennial year, the museum
opened to the public its new companion facility at Washington
Dulles International Airport on Dec. 15, 2003. The Steven
F. Udvar-Hazy Center will ultimately house 80 percent
of the unparalleled national collection of aircraft and large
space artifacts--many of which have never been displayed.
Gen.
J.R. "Jack" Dailey, director of the National
Air and Space Museum, was chairman of the U.S. Centennial of
Flight Commission. The museum was an official partner of the
commission.
See the National Air and Space Museum Press Kit for more information.
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