National Air and Space Museum
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The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States dedicated to human flight and space exploration.
Ad Astra sculpture at the museum entrance on the National Mall
The Spirit of St. Louis, flown by aviator Charles Lindbergh in 1927 on the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight
The Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia carried astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins to the Moon and back during the first human lunar landing mission, July 1969
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the Dedication of the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian
Smithsonian Institution
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The Smithsonian Institution, or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trust instrumentality and is not formally a part of any of the three branches of the federal government. The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson. It was originally organized as the United States National Museum, but that name ceased to exist administratively in 1967.
The Castle in April 1865
"The Castle" (built, 1847) on the National Mall: the institution's earliest building remains its headquarters.
The Smithsonian Institution area around the National Mall.
A school field trip to the Smithsonian Institution, c. 1900