National Air and Space Society members are invited to a hospitality suite in the Executive Board Room during the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Open House. Visit airandspace.si.edu/membertickets to make a reservation. Please show your membership card to access. The Executive Board Room is located on the Space Hangar Mezzanine. Not a member? Go to airandspace.si.edu/membership to join today.

At the Udvar-Hazy Center Open House, enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at historic artifacts, documents, and works of art that are not on public display and see what it takes to collect, preserve, and restore them.

  • Meet curators, conservators, archivists, and other specialists, and learn how they care for objects in the Museum's collection.
  • Tour the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar and see the Museum's current projects such as the Martin B-26B-25-MA Marauder Flak-Bait and the Apollo Telescope Mount.
  • Tour the Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory and learn about the science behind artifact preservation and care.
  • Learn how the aircraft are hung for display in the Boeing Aviation Hangar.*
  • Participate in hands-on activities designed for adults and children.
  • See how the most fragile artifacts are stored and cared for.
  • Discover the research that is needed before a restoration project can begin.
  • Get some tips for photographing objects in the Museum from a staff photographer.
*The aircraft-hanging tour requires timed tickets.  All other activities will be available to all visitors. 
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Open House is made possible by the support of FBR.

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport is the companion facility to the Museum on the National Mall. The building opened in December, 2003, and provides enough space for the Smithsonian to display the thousands of aviation and space artifacts that cannot be exhibited on the National Mall. The two sites together showcase the largest collection of aviation and space artifacts in the world.

 How to attend