NASM Celebrates 40th With Open House

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The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, in Washington, D.C., will stay open all night on Friday, July 1, to celebrate the building’s 40th year. The free event also will celebrate the opening of the newly redesigned Milestones of Flight Hall, where historic aircraft are on display, including the Spirit of St. Louis, the Bell X-1 that first broke the sound barrier, SpaceShipOne and more. The “All Night at the Museum” event will feature special tours and demonstrations by NASM staff, music by the U.S. Air Force Band, talks by aviation and space heroes, a film festival, and hands-on activities for kids. A ticketed reception also will be held for guests over 21. Tickets will go on sale in late May, according to the NASM.

The major renovation of the Milestones exhibit will be the first since the Museum opened in July 1976, and will “change the way we tell the many stories of how aviation and spaceflight have transformed the world,” according to the NASM website. Some new aircraft will be added, including the Apollo Lunar Module and a studio model of Star Trek’s starship Enterprise. Mobile digital technology will be integrated into the displays. Also, the new exhibit will incorporate interconnected stories that aim to trace the broader social, political, cultural, technical and human aspects of how aviation and spaceflight have transformed the world. The NASM is on the National Mall at Sixth Street and Independence Avenue SW. For those who can’t make it there, the All Night at the Museum event will be broadcast live on the museum’s website.

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