Visitors to the National Air and Space Museum were treated to a surprise holiday performance by The U.S. Air Force Band yesterday. The seven-minute performance featured an original arrangement of Patapan and Ding Dong Merrily on High led by the Band’s commander Col. Larry H. Lang. Museum visitors watched as a small number of instrumentalists started playing in the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall and were soon joined by handbell ringers and a choir. The audience looked on in awe as drummers played and vocalists burst into song in front of the Apollo Lunar Module.

A new high-resolution topographic map of part of the southern hemisphere of Mercury has revealed a previously undetected large valley. This “Great Valley” may be the result of buckling of the Mercury’s outer silicate shell, its lithosphere, in response to global contraction. The findings were obtained using stereo images from NASA’s MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft during the orbital phase of its mission and are reported in a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters by lead author senior scientist Thomas R. Watters of the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

The National Air and Space Museum will present the fall 2016 lectures in the GE Aviation Series with two accomplished and decorated female pilots. Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann will speak on Sept. 22 about her experiences as Boeing’s first female test pilot. The Oct. 6 lecture will feature Lt. Col. Christine Mau, the first and only female pilot of the F-35.

The 50th anniversary of Star Trek is Sept. 8, and the National Air and Space Museum is inviting fans to celebrate with “Boldly Go 50”—three nights of special programs sponsored by The Roddenberry Foundation. Programs will explore the history of the science-fiction franchise and its role in inspiring generations of real scientists, innovators and explorers.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum offers new ways of learning as students prepare for the school year. Using the world’s largest aerospace collection, teachers and parents will have access to tools to engage students in multiple subject areas. The museum’s educational program, “STEM in 30,” and the new digital experience, GO FLIGHT, are available for use at home and in the classroom. The museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., also offers two new programs this fall—Smithsonian TechQuest: Flying Circus and Making STEM Magic.

In commemoration of the 47th anniversary of the first moon landing, the National Air and Space Museum will display Neil Armstrong’s lunar extravehicular gloves and helmet for the first time since 2012. The artifacts recently underwent conservation as part of the successful “Reboot the Suit” Kickstarter campaign conducted in summer 2015. They will be on view for one year, beginning July 20, at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

The National Air and Space Museum will reopen the “Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall” July 1 in conjunction with the museum’s 40th anniversary.

The “Innovations in Flight” family day and outdoor aviation display, held annually at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., will feature tethered hot air balloon flights this year.

New offerings and old favorites will take place all summer long at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and its Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Visitors can participate in educational activities at family days at both buildings and enjoy free musical performances in Washington through August.