Stories of daring, stories of technological feats, stories of prevailing against the odds ... these are the stories we tell at the National Air and Space Museum. Dive in to the stories below to discover, learn, and be inspired. 

Showing 211 - 220 of 319

Color post of Harriet Quimby in purple flight suit, posing in front of airplane.

August 01, 2016

On This Day: First U.S. Female to Earn Pilot’s License

Story | This Day in History

On August 1, 1911, Harriet Quimby became the first licensed female pilot in the United States, and the second woman to receive a pilot’s license in the world.

Jerrie Mock

July 31, 2016

Food & Flight: Jerrie Mock’s Moroccan Recipe

Story

Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world, was a wife and a mother of three, but she was no ordinary housewife. And she didn’t cook like one either. This world explorer’s recipes reflect her worldliness and wanderlust. The recipes that Mock chose to feature in the cookbook are a traditional Moroccan meat pie called bastilla, and couscous.

Pokemon from the second floor.

July 30, 2016

Catching Pokémon at the Museum

Story

isitors and staff alike are finding Pokémon alongside the Museum’s collection: a Bulbasaur by the Spirit of St. Louis; a Growlithe on the 1903 Wright Flyer; a Chariz … Wait, why are there so many Doduo in the West wing?

Amelia Earhart sits with her legs to the side.

July 24, 2016

Amelia Earhart, Fashion Designer? The Surprising Way She Pushed Boundaries

Story

Did you know Earhart created a clothing line called “Amelia Fashions” in 1933? Earhart had been interested in flying apparel for women for years. At the beginning of her career, Earhart had to wear aviation suits that were designed for men and poorly fitted for a woman. There was nothing else available.

Image of savings bond.

July 21, 2016

Iconic Apollo Photography Sells Savings Bonds

Story

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface, and the U.S. Treasury turned to America’s newest space heroes to fundraise. In 1970, the Advertising Council began one of the Treasury’s longest running Savings Bond promotions, “Take stock in America.” One of the first posters produced for the promotion is a photographic assembly depicting the United States’ conquest of the Moon.

Black and white photo of several people eating ice cream.

July 17, 2016

Aeromarine Ice Cream Party

Story | From the Archives

On March 16, 1922, the staff of Aeromarine Airways in Miami, Florida, held an impromptu ice cream party. 

An audience and piano player watch a group of children on stage.

June 17, 2016

Miss Northwestern 1945

Story | From the Archives

The Northwestern Aeronautical Corporation (NAC) in St. Paul, Minnesota documented company life during WWII in a series of wooden scrapbooks created for company president John E. Parker. The company supported a softball league with batting averages to shame Ted Williams and a league-leading hockey team. For Thanksgiving, employees received a turkey, compliments of the company. And in June 1945, the company sponsored the Miss Northwestern beauty contest.

NAC Softball Team Portrait

April 04, 2016

Put Me In, Coach!

Story | From the Archives

It’s April and baseball is back!!!

Letter From NASA

March 17, 2016

NASA’s Early Stand on Women Astronauts: “No Present Plans to Include Women on Space Flights”

Story | From the Archives

In 1962, young Linda Halpern decided to fulfill a school assignment by inquiring about how she could pursue a dream. Required to write a letter for a grade-school class, Ms. Halpern addressed hers to President John F. Kennedy, asking what she would need to do to become an astronaut.

Ruth Law in Military Uniform

March 02, 2016

Ruth Law’s World War I Liberty Bonds Leaflet

Story | Under the Radar

No one could say Ruth Law was a novice. She had been flying since 1912. She was the first woman to fly at night, in a biplane purchased from Orville Wright.