National Air and Space Museum announces plans to celebrate 50 years
The Flight and the Arts Center (depicted in this digital rendering) is a two-level exhibit space that will open in summer 2026 at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, DC.—
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is celebrating 50 years since the building in Washington, D.C., opened to the public and will commemorate this milestone throughout 2026. The museum opened July 1, 1976, as a gift to the nation for the U.S. bicentennial. Five new galleries will open to the public on the museum’s 50th anniversary, July 1, and in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary. The remaining two renovated galleries will open in the fall, which will complete the multi-year project. Programming will also take place throughout the year to celebrate 50 years, including a film series, lectures, special merchandise and digital offerings.
Galleries opening July 1:
• Flight and the Arts Center
• Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air
• U.S. National Science Foundation Discovering Our Universe
• RTX Living in the Space Age
• Textron How Things Fly
Galleries opening in the fall:
• At Home in Space (Oct. 30)
• Modern Military Aviation (Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11)
Highlights from the renovated galleries include newly displayed artifacts like the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket and the Il-2 Shturmovik and old favorites like the North American P-51D Mustang and the Hubble Space Telescope. The “Textron How Things Fly” exhibition will offer hands-on experiences for younger visitors and the Flight and the Arts Center will open two inaugural exhibitions including the temporary exhibition “The Ascent of Rauschenberg: Reinventing the Art of Flight.”
The opening of the five galleries July 1 and the remaining two galleries this fall will mark the completion of the museum’s multi-year renovation, which includes redesigning all 20 exhibition spaces, complete refacing of the exterior cladding, replacement of outdated mechanical systems and other repairs and improvements. The first half of the renovated museum opened in October 2022 with eight new or reimagined exhibitions, the Northrop Grumman Planetarium, the museum store and the Mars Café. The second phase opened in July 2025 with five new exhibitions. The previously announced schedule of all seven remaining galleries opening July 1 was adjusted due to the impacts of the government shutdown in fall 2025. More information about how the museum is transforming all of its exhibitions and revitalizing the building is available on the museum’s website.
The 50th Anniversary Film Series will take place on the evening of the last Monday of every month throughout the year (plus a Feb. 2 screening) at the museum’s Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater. Movie highlights will include Sully, Wall-E and Hidden Figures. The museum’s popular Exploring Space Lecture Series will take place this spring and will feature a 50th-anniversary theme by highlighting the science and stories behind objects from the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall. AirSpace, the museum’s podcast, will release an anniversary-themed limited series taking listeners behind the scenes of key moments in the museum’s history. AirSpace is sponsored by Lockheed Martin.
The museum’s anniversary plans also include digital initiatives such as “50 for 50: 50 Artifacts from 50 States,” which will showcase how every part of the country has played a role in the history of air and space. The project will include a countdown, which will begin in May, of the 50 artifacts leading up to the July 1 anniversary. In addition, the museum will make records for all objects currently on display at both of its locations—the building on the Mall and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia—available online, ensuring that anyone anywhere can access images and information for over 6,000 objects in the national collection.
