According to Gen. John R. "Jack" Dailey, director of the museum, "The National Air and Space Museum is unique in that the past and the future coexist in a dynamic way, making the science, history and technology of flight meaningful to people of all ages and backgrounds."

Don Lopez, deputy director, can attest to the far-reaching appeal of the museum.  I've been here over 20 years, and in that time I've seen a range of visitors as broad as the globe itself," he said. "It's not uncommon to see Buddhist monks in orange robes and sandals, young men and women in military uniforms, Amish families from nearby counties, neatly dressed businessmen with briefcases, groups of children proudly wearing their school T-shirts, and families speaking all sorts of different languages. It's always an interesting place to be."

The staggering number of visitors to the National Air and Space Museum is expected to increase by another 3 million starting in December, when the museum's companion facility at Washington Dulles International Airport opens. The building on the Mall is large enough to exhibit only 10 percent of the Smithsonian's aviation and space collection, and the new facility, named the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center after its key donor, will ultimately house an additional 80 percent of the collection.

The last time National Air and Space Museum attendance was more than 10 million was in 1998, when the total for the fiscal year was 10,238,890.