Programs
  • Programs
    • Learning resources
  • Learning resources
    • Plan a field trip
  • Plan a field trip
  • Demonstrations
  • IMAX and Planetarium
  • Planetarium Shows
  • Scavenger Hunts
  • STEAM Labs
  • Story Time
  • Tours
    • Educator professional development
  • Educator professional development
  • Learning guides
  • Teacher Innovator Institute
  • Holt Scholars Program
    • Education monthly theme
  • Education monthly theme

    • The National Air and Space Museum offers drop in and reserve programs at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy in Chantilly, VA, and virtually.

    Reserved programs are intended for school groups, homeschool groups, and community-based organizations serving youth that meet the minimum program requirements. If you have questions about if your organization meets the Museum’s program requirements, please contact NASMTours@si.edu.

    National Air and Space Museum in DC

    Currently, there is very limited availability for student and youth programming. No reserved or walk-up public tours are available at the location on the National Mall. Available programs for reservation, such as demonstrations, at the National Mall location are posted through June 2024.

    Field trip groups will need to reserve free timed-entry passes to visit the museum. 
    Up to two reservations of 55 per group can be submitted for one day. If you require more than 110 timed entry passes, we suggest that you have a different group point of contact (with a different email address) make any additional reservations.

    Reserve Free Timed-Entry Passes       Reserve a Program

     

    Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA

    Visitors to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center can both explore thousands of aviation and space artifacts and enjoy a facilitated on-site experiences. 

    Reserve a Program

     

    Virtual Programs

    The Museum offers several virtual experiences for school groups who cannot visit the Museum in person. These online experiences have been designed to engage and excite learners, while aligning with their educational needs.

    Reserve a Program

    Buses and parking

    Museum in DC

    Bus parking is not available at the Museum. Buses can drop off and pick up at the Independence Avenue entrance.

    Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in VA

    FREE parking is available for buses and 16 passenger vans in the Udvar-Hazy Center parking lot. Daily parking for other vehicles is available for $15 (free after 4:00 pm). There is a 30-minute grace period if you are just dropping off passengers.

    Chaperones 

    Students must be supervised at all times. The required student-chaperone ratios are:

    Pre-K through 3rd Grade: 1 adult for every 5 students
    4th through 6th Grade: 1 adult for every 10 students
    7th through 12th Grade: 1 adult for every 15 students

     Schedules

    School year
    Our school year student schedule is released annually on August 1 and includes programs from October through early June.

    Summer
    Our summer student program schedule is released annually on April 1 and includes programs from mid-June through September.

    Food Options

    Outside food and drink are not permitted in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC or the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. Bottled water is allowed.

    Museum in DC
    The Mars Café is located at the lower level and open daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. The café has limited seating and food options.

    Udvar-Hazy Center in VA
    A Shake Shack is open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Please contact Smithsonian Enterprises Group Sales to set up group orders from Shake Shack. There is a small indoor eating area that is available on a first come, first served basis that seats a maximum of 75 people. Groups are welcome to leave the Museum and return. One paid parking ticket is good for the day.

    For more things to know before you go, please see our visiting tips.
    Programs
  • Programs
    • Learning resources
  • Learning resources
    • Plan a field trip
  • Plan a field trip
  • Demonstrations
  • IMAX and Planetarium
  • Planetarium Shows
  • Scavenger Hunts
  • STEAM Labs
  • Story Time
  • Tours
    • Educator professional development
  • Educator professional development
  • Learning guides
  • Teacher Innovator Institute
  • Holt Scholars Program
    • Education monthly theme
  • Education monthly theme

    • The National Air and Space Museum offers drop in and reserve programs at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy in Chantilly, VA, and virtually.

    Reserved programs are intended for school groups, homeschool groups, and community-based organizations serving youth that meet the minimum program requirements. If you have questions about if your organization meets the Museum’s program requirements, please contact NASMTours@si.edu.

    National Air and Space Museum in DC

    Currently, there is very limited availability for student and youth programming. No reserved or walk-up public tours are available at the location on the National Mall. Available programs for reservation, such as demonstrations, at the National Mall location are posted through June 2024.

    Field trip groups will need to reserve free timed-entry passes to visit the museum. 
    Up to two reservations of 55 per group can be submitted for one day. If you require more than 110 timed entry passes, we suggest that you have a different group point of contact (with a different email address) make any additional reservations.

    Reserve Free Timed-Entry Passes       Reserve a Program

     

    Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA

    Visitors to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center can both explore thousands of aviation and space artifacts and enjoy a facilitated on-site experiences. 

    Reserve a Program

     

    Virtual Programs

    The Museum offers several virtual experiences for school groups who cannot visit the Museum in person. These online experiences have been designed to engage and excite learners, while aligning with their educational needs.

    Reserve a Program

    Buses and parking

    Museum in DC

    Bus parking is not available at the Museum. Buses can drop off and pick up at the Independence Avenue entrance.

    Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in VA

    FREE parking is available for buses and 16 passenger vans in the Udvar-Hazy Center parking lot. Daily parking for other vehicles is available for $15 (free after 4:00 pm). There is a 30-minute grace period if you are just dropping off passengers.

    Chaperones 

    Students must be supervised at all times. The required student-chaperone ratios are:

    Pre-K through 3rd Grade: 1 adult for every 5 students
    4th through 6th Grade: 1 adult for every 10 students
    7th through 12th Grade: 1 adult for every 15 students

     Schedules

    School year
    Our school year student schedule is released annually on August 1 and includes programs from October through early June.

    Summer
    Our summer student program schedule is released annually on April 1 and includes programs from mid-June through September.

    Food Options

    Outside food and drink are not permitted in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC or the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. Bottled water is allowed.

    Museum in DC
    The Mars Café is located at the lower level and open daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. The café has limited seating and food options.

    Udvar-Hazy Center in VA
    A Shake Shack is open from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Please contact Smithsonian Enterprises Group Sales to set up group orders from Shake Shack. There is a small indoor eating area that is available on a first come, first served basis that seats a maximum of 75 people. Groups are welcome to leave the Museum and return. One paid parking ticket is good for the day.

    For more things to know before you go, please see our visiting tips.

    Things to Do

    A group of school children and an educator stand in front of the Space Shuttle Discovery.

    Tours

    Student tours are 60-minute facilitated walk-throughs of the Museum for grades 2 and up and led by the Museum’s Docents. The tours are for groups of 10 or more and cover a variety of topics that align with the museum’s STEAM Lab content. For every 15 participants, there will be one docent requested. 

    Available at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. 

    A photograph of an astronaut in his space suit, with a large spherical shape in the background.

    Demonstrations

    These 25-minute programs combine staff-led demonstrations and hands-on activities to illustrate how things fly on Earth and in space.

    Available at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA, and virtually. 

    A young man wearing two surgical masks raises his hand with enthusiasm.

    STEAM Labs

    These free inquiry-based programs are based on the collections of the National Air and Space Museum and are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards and explore topics in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM).

    Available at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

    An educator reads a story out loud.

    Story Time

    Read aloud with a museum educator, chat about an image or another museum resource related to the topic, then watch a related craft activity in our unique story time programs. 

    Available at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA, and virtually. 

    Shot of an IMAX movie screen with viewers seated in the theater.

    IMAX Theater

    Strap into the cockpit of some of the most advanced aircraft, or take a walk through space. Fees apply, discounts available for groups of 10 or more.

    For more information regarding the IMAX, please contact IMAX@si.edu for assistance. 

    Available at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

    Three boys look up at a planetarium show that is above their heads.

    Planetarium

    The Planetarium at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC is currently open and showing planetarium short films. To see descriptions of each film please see our website. Group reservations are unavailable at this time and tickets are only available for purchase on site at the National Air and Space Museum. 

    Available at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. 

    A satellite device with panel and umbrella shaped modules.

    Scavenger Hunts

    Our Scavenger Hunt competitions are aligned with our Anytime Expedition content and STEAM Labs and challenge students to demonstrate what they know about the topics in a way that embraces creativity and multiple ways to demonstrate understanding.

    Available at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA, and virtually. 

    Reservation details

    Read guidelines

    Guidelines and policies for reserving on-site programs

    Availability

    If you don't see the program you're interested in on certain dates, it may no longer be available. Please check other dates or contact the Tours and Reservations Office for more information. Phone: 202-633-2563  |  Email: NASMTours@si.edu

    Experience the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

    Discovery awaits at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, where air and space history comes to life. 

    Field Trip Alternatives

    A view of the Destination Moon gallery. Neil Armstrong's spacesuit and the command module Columbia are both visable.

    Self-guided Tours

    The Museum offers a selection of self-guided experiences for groups to take part in during their visit. For an additional charge, we have the Airbus IMAX theater and flight simulators that you can enjoy during your visit. You can contact IMAX directly at IMAX@si.edu for more information about reserving tickets for a showing. 

    A ‘selfie’ image taken by the Perseverance rover with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in the background.

    Virtual Programs

    If you can’t make it to the Museum you can engage with us virtually. We offer several online reservable programs, and our Anytime Expeditions provide on-demand educational resources that can be used in your classroom.

    Many hands reach into the center with a multicolored projection over them.

    Sponsored Field Trips

    The Holt Scholars Program focuses on providing a field trip experience to the museum for all 6th grade DCPS Earth Science students as part of the Smithsonian’s DC Metro Initiative. Field trips for other grades and subjects are also available on a limited basis.