The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum marks three significant anniversaries in its history this year and is celebrating with a series of special events during the coming months.

Thirty years ago, as a highlight of the American Bicentennial, the museum welcomed the first visitors to its new flagship building on the National Mall in Washington. The Mall building—home to such icons of flight as the 1903 Wright Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis and the Apollo 11 command module—quickly became the most popular museum site in the world and has now welcomed more than 250 million visitors.

In 2003, the Air and Space Museum expanded to Northern Virginia with the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, now the most popular museum site in the state having welcomed more than 3 million visitors.

The museum will celebrate 30 years on the Mall with a special birthday at the flagship building in Washington on Friday, July 21. That day will feature special chats with curators, hands-on education displays and musical performances. Also taking place on July 21 is the museum's annual Mars Day!, which offers a host of fun family activities as visitors learn the latest about our "next door neighbor."

The museum of today was first envisioned 60 years ago when the National Air Museum was created as a separate bureau of the Smithsonian Institution. Public Law 722 was signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1946. Previously, the Smithsonian’s aeronautics collection had been part of the Smithsonian’s Department of Arts and Industries, but the collection had grown rapidly with World War II aircraft and it was decided that the brief but imposing history of aviation warranted a separate museum.

Twenty years later, as Americans raced the Soviets to reach the moon, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Air Museum Amendment Act, which added "space" to the museum's name and also authorized the construction of a much-needed museum building. Ten years later, the Mall building opened as President Gerald R. Ford declared it “a perfect birthday present" to the nation.

For this anniversary year, the museum is featuring a series of educational Family Days on Saturdays, with themes ranging from telescopes to pilots. The museum also is hosting a number of lectures, including the General Electric Aviation series and the Exploring Space series. Several concerts will be held at the Mall building throughout the summer.

Other anniversary activities will include marking Geography Awareness Week and special flight-related programs for Halloween and Children's Book Week.

Admission to the museum’s flagship building on the National Mall and the Udvar-Hazy Center is free, but there is a $12 daily parking fee at the Udvar-Hazy Center. 

The museum’s Mall building will open at 9 a.m. beginning Friday, May 26, through Labor Day, Sept. 4, with the first floor, Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater and food court accessible. The second floor of the building will open at 10 a.m. The Udvar-Hazy Center opens at 10 a.m. Both facilities close at 5:30 p.m.