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Get a behind the scenes listen of Futures in Space, one of the new galleries, with two of its curators. 

Many are familiar with Rosie the Riveter, the iconic symbol of women’s contributions to World War II. However, women also played an important role in World War I, especially in regard to aviation.

With the advent of the Space Age, scientists began searching for extraterrestrial life using radio waves, believing advanced civilizations might send signals across space. Despite Cold War tensions, researchers from different countries worked together to explore this possibility. Their efforts led to international meetings, shaping modern SETI research in the search for cosmic communication.

Chauncey Spencer and Dale White were charged with flying to Washington, DC to advocate for opportunities for Black pilots in the military. The mission was simple to explain, much harder to do.  

Aviator Pancho Barnes was larger than life. Born at the turn of the century, she spent the next 75 years defying every societal norm she found stuffy, boring, or just plain stupid. 

In 1923, the U.S. Army Air Service announced it was going to attempt a flight around the globe.  

Charles Alfred Anderson most accomplished aviators in the country and a ground-breaking advocate for Black pilots.

U.S. Army Air Service pilots Lt. John A. Macready and Lt. Oakley G. Kelly made the first nonstop transcontinental flight on May 2–3, 1923, in the Fokker T-2 transport. 

How Calbraith Perry Rodgers became the first person to fly across America.

Fifty years after his death, and nearly 100 since he was thrust into the global spotlight, Charles Lindbergh’s legacy remains complicated.