- About the Air & Space Museum
- Getting there and hours
- Main Attractions
- Insider Tips
- What else is nearby
- Reviews
The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
in Washington DC that is on the National Mall opened July 1, 1976, It cost $40,000,000 to complete. That converts to roughly $180,000,000 in 2019.
The Air and Space Museum Dulles – Udvar-Hazy Center – opened December 20003.
The museum welcomed one million visitors in its first 25 days after opening on July 1, 1976. That’s 40 thousand people per day. It marked two million visitors on its 50th day of operation. This is the most visited museum in the world, averaging more than 9 million people each year.
Open 10 am-5 pm, every day except Christmas. The entrance is free.
Nearby Metro station – L’Enfant Plaza 7th Maryland Ave. S.W. (Orange, Silver, Blue. Yellow and Green Metro Lines)
Federal Center 3rd & D St. S.W. ( Orange, Silver and Blue Metro LInes)
(both 10-minute walk)
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
600 Independence Ave. S.W. Washington, D.C. 20560
202-633-2214
With the construction going on, the Independence Avenue entrance is closed. The entrance is only on Jefferson Drive inside the Mall.
National air and space museum tickets are free for both locations, there is a $15.00 charge to park at the Udvar-Hazy site at Dulles, and the quickest way there is on the Toll road that is about $6.00 each way. Be prepared on the toll road with exact change in coins, or an EZ-Pass.
The main attractions of the Museum are the Wright Brothers’ Wright Flyer Airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, flown by Charles Lindberg, the spacesuit of Neil Armstrong of the Apollo 11 moon landing, artifacts, and exhibits from the history of flight and aviation.
There are food concessions at all of the museums, some more extensive than others. Best bet is the American Indian Museum which features Native and Southwestern American fare. Adult beverages are available at some of the museums. During seasonal weather, there are generally several food trucks of all sorts in the general area.
All museums feature gift shops, which are a great source for quality souvenirs and mementos.
There is an app that lists all of the Smithsonian museums, that we suggest you download. It’s loaded with information about the many exhibits in each building, where they are, and schedules of events taking place each day.
Highly recommend you check to see what time they offer free guided tours of the museum, they last about an hour, many of the guides are former pilots and tell great stories about the exhibits on display.
National air and space museum tickets are free for both locations, there is a $15.00 charge to park at the Udvar-Hazy site at Dulles, and the quickest way there is on the Toll road that is about $6.00 each way. Be prepared on the toll road with exact change in coins, or an EZ-Pass.
As you face the Museum on independence Ave., to your right the American Indian Museum, the Botanical Gardens, and the United States Capitol. To your left, the Hirschhorn Museum, the Arts and Industry Building, and the Smithsonian Castle. Directly behind you is the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, and the Bible Museum. All are within a 5-10-minute walk.