Ask an Expert Lecture Series

Every week, Museum experts talk to the public about the history, objects or personalities related to a specific artifact or exhibition in the Museum. Watch previous Ask an Expert lectures and view a schedule of upcoming lectures below.

2010 "Ask an Expert" videos made possible through the generous
support of The Gertrude E. Skelly Charitable Foundation.

Ask an Expert at the National Mall Building

Every Wednesday at noon, a Museum staff member talks to the public about the history, collection, or personalities related to a specific artifact or exhibition in the Museum. Talks typically last 10-15 minutes and begin at the Museum "Great Seal," in the Milestones of Flight gallery on the first floor.

DATE	TITLE	LECTURER (DEPARTMENT)
Jun. 19	Sally Ride and the First U.S. Women Astronauts	Dr. Valerie Neal (Space History Department)
Jun. 26	Lovelace Women in the Space Program	Dr. Margaret Weitekamp (Space History Department)
Jul. 3	Celestial Fireworks	David DeVorkin (Space History Department)
Jul. 10	Mariner to Curiosity: Spacecraft exploration of Mars	Dr. Jim Zimbelman (Center for Earth and Planetary Studies)
Jul. 17	Hermann Koehl and the First Transatlantic Flight from East to West	Evelyn Crellin (Aeronautics Department)
Jul. 24	Sally Ride	Valerie Neal (Space History Department)
Jul. 31	Rivers and Lakes on Titan, Saturn's Largest Moon	Dr. Ross Irwin (Center for Earth and Planetary Studies)

Ask an Expert at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Every second and fourth Thursday at 12:30 PM, a Museum staff member talks to the public about the history, collection, or personalities related to a specific artifact or display at the Udvar-Hazy Center. Talks typically last 10-15 minutes and begin at the nose of the SR-71 in the Boeing Aviation Hangar.

DATE	TITLE	LECTURER (DEPARTMENT)
Jun. 20	Space Shuttle Tiles: Taking the Heat Of Re-Entry	Valerie Neal (Space History Department)
Jul. 11	Excalibur III, Charles Blair and the Last Great Feat of Air Navigation	Roger Connor (Aeronautics Department)
Jul. 25	Real Artifacts from Apollo 11: Righting Spheres, Flotation Collar and Stop Watch	Allan A. Needell (Space History Department)
Aug. 8	Which is Better, Robots or Humans in Space?	Roger Launius (Administration)
Aug. 22	Violet Lightning: The Kawanishi N1K2 Shiden Kai GEORGE, Japan’s Most Advanced Naval Fighter Aircraft	Russell Lee (Aeronautics Department)

Curator's Choice Online
Excerpts from previous Curator's Choice lectures (now the Ask An Expert series) for
Apollo 11 Command Module, Lunar Module 2 and Apollo Moon Rocks.