Exhibitions

The invention of the balloon struck the men and women of the late 18th century like a thunderbolt. From August to December 1783 enormous crowds gathered to watch one balloon after another rise above the Paris rooftops, carrying the first human .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

Companies of all sizes have turned increasingly to company-owned, chartered, or leased aircraft to fly their staff around the country or overseas. These business aircraft can fly into smaller, more convenient, less congested airports and flight.... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

The airplane emerged from World War I recognized widely for its potential as a military weapon. After the war, United States military aviators advocated different roles for the the airplane in American defense. By World War II, innovations in .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

Facing a two-front war in Europe and the Pacific, the United States mobilized its vast human and industrial resources to achieve victory—a strategy that required the systematic use of air power. World War II became the global arena for a .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

Aerospace and Our Changing Environment focuses on how aerospace innovations help us understand climate change while providing new technologies to respond to the challenge. Aerospace and Our Changing Environment aims to explore both the science .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

Able to operate freely from nearly any place on earth, helicopters come closer than any other aircraft to achieving the birdlike freedom humanity has always envied. However, the same technology that makes this possible also prevents the .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

Between the first flights of the Wright brothers in 1903 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the airplane grew from an ancient dream into a reality that would shape the future. Early Flight uses artifacts like the Lilienthal Glider, 1909 .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

By the turn of the 20th century, nearly 10,000 letter carriers worked in over 400 cities. The nation's population was expanding at top speed, and with it, the nation's mail volume and the need for personal mail delivery. This gallery focuses on.... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.