Press Releases

Visitors and residents of Northern Virginia need look no further than the area’s premier attraction for activities this winter break. The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will offer something for everyone, from story times and in-depth tours to alternate-reality games and screenings of Star Wars: The Last Jedi with costumed characters

The Smithsonian has announced plans to revitalize the National Air and Space Museum and transform its exhibitions. The project, estimated to take place over seven to eight  years, will be done on a phased sequencing schedule that will keep many exhibitions open during the construction process. The building will undergo complete refacing of the exterior cladding, replacement of outdated mechanical systems and other repairs and improvements. The visitor experience will also change when all of the museum’s 23 galleries and presentation spaces are updated or completely redone.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will host its annual “Air & Scare” family day from noon to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Visitors will enjoy safe, indoor trick-or-treating and spooky activities for all ages at this free event.

The National Air and Space Museum’s “STEM in 30” program will broadcast its next episode Sept. 27 with an astronaut on board the International Space Station. A group of students at the museum will have the opportunity to speak with NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik through a live downlink as he orbits 250 miles above Earth. Classrooms around the country can watch the live broadcast at 12:15 p.m. on the museum’s website and NASA TV. This event is part of “ISS Science,” a collaboration between the museum and NASA to provide educational videos and lesson plans for students and teachers. 

Gen. J. R. "Jack" Dailey, John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, will retire in January 2018. Having served 17 years as head of the museum, he is its longest serving director. Dailey, a retired U.S. Marine Corps four star general and pilot, assumed the duties of director in January 2000. As head of the museum, Dailey has led efforts to expand its size and scope, maintaining its status among the most visited museums in the world.

New findings reveal deposits on Mars that could be interpreted to be ice-rich may contain little or no ice at all, based on an analysis of radar sounder data for Meridiani Planum—an area on the planet’s equator being explored by the Opportunity rover. This new insight into Meridiani Planum may help identify areas with and without accessible water ice, a resource critical to future human exploration and possible colonization of Mars. The paper, “Radar Sounder Evidence of Thick, Porous Sediments in Meridiani Planum and Implications for Ice-Filled Deposits on Mars,” is published in the September issue of Geophysical Research Letters by lead author and Smithsonian senior scientist Thomas R. Watters.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum launches its Fall 2017 GE Aviation Lecture Series Sept. 7 with reflections from father and daughter John Penney and Heather “Lucky” Penney on their experiences on 9/11. The series will conclude Nov. 2 with a conversation with broadcast journalist Miles O’Brien on aviation journalism, both historically and in modern times.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will present “Mars Day!,” its annual tribute to the Red Planet Friday, July 21, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the museum on the National Mall. Organized by the museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, the event enables visitors to interact with its team of staff scientists and experts from NASA.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will serve as a major source of information, educational activities and experiences in the Washington, D.C., area on and around the total solar eclipse Aug. 21, an event that has not occurred in the U.S., coast-to-coast in nearly 100 years. “Your Eclipse” family days will be held at the museum on the National Mall July 8 and at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., July 15. On the day of the eclipse, programming will be held at both buildings and online. There will be excellent viewing opportunities at the Phoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory just outside the entrance to the museum in Washington. The museum’s popular 30-minute live webcast, “STEM in 30,” will broadcast from Liberty, Mo., which is in the “path of totality,” the narrow path across the country where the moon’s shadow will completely eclipse the sun.