The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will present “Mars Day!,” its annual tribute to the Red Planet Friday, July 20, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the museum on the National Mall. This is the one time of year the museum’s scientists from its Center for Earth and Planetary Studies bring their work to the museum galleries and interact with visitors, discussing their research and their work on NASA missions.

The National Air and Space Museum will host “Asteroid Day: Defending Planet Earth” June 30 at the museum in Washington, D.C., and online. A panel of asteroid experts will discuss the threats asteroids pose and how to protect the Earth from the danger they may cause. This is part of the global “Asteroid Day” event, marking the 110th anniversary of the largest impact-related incident in modern history when, June 30, 1908, an asteroid caused a massive air blast that flattened thousands of square miles in Siberia.

The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, will show free outdoor movies June 23 through Aug. 25. This unique experience will give visitors and locals alike a chance to watch Hollywood favorites under the stars on the Udvar-Hazy Center’s outdoor airplane ramp. Each of the aviation- and space-themed films will begin at dusk; doors will open at 8 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets. Films may be canceled due to inclement weather.

The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., will host family-friendly activities throughout the summer to meet every staycationer’s needs. Special themed events and family days are scheduled, including the popular “Innovations in Flight Family Day and Aviation Display,” which will return June 16, Solstice Saturday and “STEAM Family Day.” Free concerts will run May through August in the Space Hangar.

The National Air and Space Museum will launch the “She Can” two-week STEM summer camp this July and August at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. The camp is designed for students with an interest in aviation and seeks to empower young women to succeed in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines. Open to sixth- through eighth-grade girls, the museum will offer the free aviation-focused experience to low-income students in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. The museum will accept applications until June 18 for the camp’s 60 total slots.

The National Air and Space Museum received a $1 million gift from AAR Corp., its chairman and CEO David P. Storch and the family of its founder Ira J. Eichner. The gift supports the construction of the new Design Hangar in the transformed “How Things Fly” exhibition at the flagship building in Washington, D.C., scheduled to open in 2024.

Ellen Stofan, currently consulting senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, has been named the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, effective April 30. Stofan comes to the position with more than 25 years’ experience in...

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum 2018 Trophy will be awarded to Gen. John R. “Jack” Dailey for Lifetime Achievement. In the category of Current Achievement, the Trophy will be awarded to Shaesta Waiz of Dream Soar Inc. The recipients will receive their awards March 27 at a black-...

The National Air and Space Museum will host the “winningest pilot in air racing,” Jon Sharp, and his business partner and wife, Patricia Sharp, at the GE Aviation Lecture April 26.

The British are coming to northern Virginia. The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will hold “The Great British Fly-In” in partnership with Great Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) April 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. As part of the 100th anniversary celebration of the RAF, the oldest air force in the world, the event will feature over a dozen former RAF and other military aircraft, flown in for one day only.