The National Air and Space Museum is Transforming!

The One World Connected exhibition tells the story of how flight fostered two momentous changes in everyday life: the ease in making connections across vast distances and a new perspective of Earth as humanity’s home. Featuring an array of satellites, the exhibit asks visitors to consider how global interconnection touches their lives and imagine how advances in technology might impact our future. 

Between the first flights at Kitty Hawk and the opening guns of WWI, the design and construction of aircraft and engines became a global industrial enterprise. The Early Flight exhibition uses artifacts such as the 1909 Wright Military Flyer and the Blériot XI to explore the impact of the airplane on politics and international relations. Mechanical interactives allow visitors to operate different types of control systems and interact with digital representations of early aviation pioneers. 

The Nation of Speed exhibition recounts humankind’s desire to become the fastest on land, sea, air, and space in the pursuit of commerce, power, and prestige. This gallery is a portrait of human ingenuity and will explore how the pursuit of speed has shaped American culture and our national identity.

The Wright Brothers exhibition provides visitors unprecedented access to the iconic 1903 Wright Flyer while unraveling the story of invention and innovation.