Explore 300 years of navigation history from the early days at sea to today’s GPS. Enjoy hands-on activities that teach you how to find your way on the sea, in the air, and in space.

ALL DAY PRESENTATIONS:
District of Columbia Association of Land Surveyors – interact with people whose job is to know where to draw the lines on maps. 
Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall (Gallery 100) 

Time and Navigation (Gallery 213) 
• Hear exhibition curators and other experts talk about the Time and Navigation gallery.
• Learn about Sydney the dog that went on the Wilkes Exploring Expedition in the 1830s.
• Meet historical reenactor Eleanor Creesy - Navigator of the Flying Cloud. Find out what it was like to navigate in the 1850s. Look for her between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm
 
Hands-on activities for ages 5 and up
In Space Race (Gallery 114)
• Create a compass rose
• Discover how black boxes really work 
• Navigate like the Apollo astronauts
• Make a DC map 
 
In Time and Navigation (Gallery 213)
• Navigate like the Apollo astronauts 
 
In Apollo to the Moon (Gallery 210)
• Navigate like the Apollo astronauts
• Find your longitude to earn a special button 
 
TIMED PRESENTATIONS:
Enjoy a concert by the Chromatics. Science never sounded so good, as they entertain you with songs about the scientific principles like Doppler shift.
10:45 am and 1:15 pm
Space Race (Gallery 114)
 
Navigating With the Stars
Albert Einstein Planetarium
10:30 am - 11:00 am 
This special Time and Navigation presentation will explore how people have used the Sun and stars to navigate. Navigator techniques for using the Sun, Moon, and stars for voyaging across the seas and back will be demonstrated. Views of the day and night skies will be displayed on the dome of the planetarium during a virtual exploration of different locations around the world. 
FREE - first come, first served 

Flights of Fancy Story Time
Listen to a reading of The Sun is my Favorite Star and do a hands-on activity.
(Ages 3-6 with adult companion) 
11:00 am and 1:30 pm
Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery (Gallery 208) 
 
Look through a telescope and learn how to use a sextant (weather permitting).
11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Outside in the Public Observatory (east patio outside of McDonald’s)

This program is made possible through the generous support of Northrop Grumman Corporation; Exelis Inc.; Honeywell; National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; U.S. Department of Transportation; Magellan GPS; National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation & Timing; Rockwell Collins; and Institute of Navigation.

Women in Aerospace Family Day at the Museum in Washington, DC.  2011

 How to attend

National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC

6th St. and Independence Ave SW. Washington, DC 20560
Throughout Location