The National Air and Space Museum is one of the 16 in the Smithsonian Complex. Besides looking through the many exhibits at the museum, be sure to take in an IMAX movie. We saw The Cosmic Voyage, and it was spectacular! I now frequently show it to school groups that visit the Astronomy Department, where I work.

At the Air and Space, you can learn about the entire history of flight and see much of it there right before your eyes. The Wright Flyer is there, as well as a mock-up of the Hubble Space Telescope.

One of my favorite exhibits: The Spirit of St. Louis,
the plane Charles Lindburgh used to first cross the Atlantic non-stop

Yes, that's C3-P0 and R2-D2. A new exhibit about space in the movies that
opened at the National Air and Space in 1997.

And they have a stormtrooper too.

After some controversy, the Enola Gay exhibit opened at the museum.
Only part of the airplane in the exhibit. The rest is at the Paul Garber facility where
the exhibits for the downtown museum are restored.

A Lockheed Vega flown by Amelia Earhart.