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| Exhibitions |  Featured: Our banner this month shows the Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe on display in the Legend, Memory and the Great War in the Air gallery. This exhibition re-examines aviation during World War I and contrasts romance with reality. On display are rare airplanes from Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France, such as the French-built Spad XIII Smith IV, shown at left. Even Charlie Brown's sidekick Snoopy of cartoon fame, who often battled WWI German ace the Red Baron, gets into the act in a display of toys, games, and other objects representing the influence of WWI on popular culture. |
| Feature Story from Air & Space Magazine |  Secret Space Shuttles. When you're 200 miles up, it's easy to hide what you're up to. |
| This Month in Aviation and Space History |  January 31, 1958. The United States officially entered the "Space Age" following the successful launch of the satellite Explorer 1. Data from this and two subsequent Explorer satellites led to the discovery by James Van Allen of a belt of intense radiation surrounding the Earth. A fully instrumented flight spare of Explorer 1 is on display in the Milestones of Flight gallery in the Museum in Washington, DC. The Museum has several Explorer 1 replicas as well, and one is on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center's Space Science exhibit. |
| Test your Knowledge |  What Soviet satellite preceded Explorer 1 by a few months, having been launched October 4, 1957? A full-scale replica of this satellite is on display alongside Explorer 1 in Milestones of Flight. Answer
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| New on the AirSpace Blog | |
 Presidential Turkey Arrives by Air, by Alan Janus, Archives Department museum specialist
This Pie is Out of This World, by Tom Watters, geologist and chair of the Museum's Center for Earth and Planetary Studies
CSI: NASM (Curator Scene Investigator: National Air and Space Museum), by Space History Department museum specialist Jennifer Levasseur
Filming the Story of Getting From Here to There, by Andrew Johnston, geographer in the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies |
 Pearl Harbor Survivor. This photo shows the view visitors have from the mezzanine overlooking the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar at the Udvar-Hazy Center. Visible in the hangar is the Sikorsky JRS-1 amphibian flying boat. This is the only aircraft in the Museum's collection that was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. It is being reassembled, but there are no plans to restore it. Employees placed an American flag next to it in honor of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. |
 Vought-Sikorsky XR-4C. The XR-4 represents the culmination of Igor I. Sikorsky's attempts to create a practical helicopter. |
 Douglas M-2. A sturdy, dependable aircraft that was popular with the newly formed airlines in the 1920s. |
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For more photos, search through the online collections imagery database. |
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Prints Now on Sale |  Prints of some of the photographs in the book, In Plane View: Abstractions of Flight by Museum photographer Carolyn Russo are now on sale. These photographs emphasize the often-overlooked simple beauty of aircraft design and transform airplanes and spaceships into works of art. Russo uses the iconic air- and spacecraft of the National Air and Space Museum as her source. The resulting photographs make great gifts for flight enthusiasts. View and purchase prints here. At left is one of the prints on sale -- the exhaust cone of the North American X-15. |
| Shop the SmithsonianStore.com |  Wright Flyer Kite. Aloft in the sky or suspended from a ceiling, this magnificent 3D replica kite of the Wright Flyer celebrates the first sustained and piloted flight of a heavier-than-air machine. The unique construction and realistic flight appearance of this Wright Flyer Airplane Kite is an original design by renowned kite artist Joel Scholz. |
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Smithsonian's Stars Lecture
Trees in the City: Urban Tree Cover Dynamics in the District of Columbia
Andrew Johnston, Geographer, Center for Earth and Planetary Studies
Saturday, January 5, 5:15 pm
At the Museum in Washington, DC
This lecture series is made possible by a grant from NASA. |
Stargazing at the Public Observatory
Saturday, January 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, weather permitting
At the Museum in Washington, DC |
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Recurring Activities
Super Science Saturdays
At the Udvar-Hazy Center
Every second Saturday. This month: January 12. Topic: From the Wright Brothers to the Right Stuff
This event is made possible by the generous support of FBR.
"Flights of Fancy" Stories for Children
At the Museum in Washington, DC
Variable schedule
A flight or space-related story and art activity recommended for ages 3-8
This event is made possible by the generous support of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
Ask an Expert Lectures
Both locations
Wednesday, Noon, Washington, DC building
Second and fourth Thursdays, 12:30, Udvar-Hazy Center
Short talks about objects in the Museum and aviation- and space-related topics
Author Book Signings
Both locations
Variable schedule
Buy a book, have it autographed, and take home a great memento or gift.
Public Observatory
At the Museum in Washington, DC
Wednesdays through Sundays from Noon to 3:00 pm, weather permitting
Look through a 16-inch telescope to discover the wonders of the Universe.
Imax Movies
Both locations
Variable titles, schedules, and prices
Experience the thrill of watching movies on a giant screen with surround-sound.
Albert Einstein Planetarium
At the Museum in Washington, DC
Variable titles and schedules; some shows are free
Zoom through the cosmos enveloped in moving images and spine-tingling sound. |
| One Museum, Two Locations |
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 Museum in Washington, D.C.
6th & Independence, S.W.
Washington, DC
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 Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
14390 Air and Space Museum Pkwy.
Chantilly, Virginia
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Open every day from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. except December 25.
Admission is free. Udvar-Hazy Center parking: $15, free after 4:00 p.m.
For information call (202) 633-1000.
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