• Daily as posted at Gallery entrance

• Forces of Flight: (ages 6 to adult) Demonstrations focus on the basic scientific principles behind air and space flight.

• Inventing the Airplane: (ages 8 to adult) Demonstrations describe the principles the Wright brothers used to design the first successful aircraft.

• Paper Airplane Contest: (all ages) Explore the concept of "stability" by using paper clips to balance a paper airplane and compete against other participants.

• Star Station One: (all ages) Demonstrations answer basic questions about the International Space Station.

10 different Discovery Stations are featured on varying days. These stations are hands-on interpretation centers that encourage learning through looking, discussion, and activities related to aviation, space exploration, astronomy, and planetary geology. Volunteers or museum staff offer visitors a 3-12 minute immediate, informal, and interactive experience that includes artifacts, teaching objects, games, and directed activities.

• Times and locations as posted at information desk

• Every Sat., 11 AM and 1:30 PM
See Chron section

• Every Mon., by reservation only
2-week notice required; call Mon.-Fri., 10 AM-3 PM, except federal holidays: 202-633-2563 (voice mail) or 202-357-1505 (TTY)) Note: Limited to 15 participants.

(simulators 5 and 6 min.)
• Ride Simulators: Choose from a variety of rides. Adventures include a space walk from the International Space Station and flight experiences in various vintage aircraft.

• Interactive Flight Simulators: Try to become a jet combat "ace" -- in either an F-4 Phantom II or an A-7 Corsair II -- as you pilot the simulator into 360-degree barrel rolls. Choose either pilot or gunner responsibilities (training time included prior to mission).

• Daily, 10 AM-5:30 PM

Admission
• Ride Simulator: $7.00 per person
• Interactive Flight Simulator: $8.00 per person
• Add a Simulator: $1.00 off with the purchase of an IMAX Theater or Planetarium ticket
• For reservations, call 202-633-4629 or 1-866-868-7774 (toll-free)

Note: Tickets available both at Box Office and Flight Simulators.

Payment Options
• At Simulators: Cash, VISA, and MasterCard
• At IMAX and Planetarium Box Offices: Cash and major credit cards

Notes:
• Ride simulators accommodate up to 8 people per ride. Children must be 42 inches tall unless accompanied by an adult.
• Interactive Flight Simulators accommodate up to 2 people per ride. For safety reasons, children must be 42 inches tall when riding with an adult, or 48 inches tall when riding with another child.

Nine different Discovery Stations are featured on varying days. These stations are hands-on interpretation centers that encourage learning through looking, discussion, and activities related to aviation, space exploration, and planetary geology. Volunteers or museum staff offer visitors a 3-12 minute immediate, informal, and interactive experience that includes artifacts, teaching objects, games, and directed activities.

• Times and locations as posted at information desk

• Access to the tower is via elevator on the first floor

• Daily, 10 AM-5 PM
Notes:
- Last elevator up to tower leaves at 4:30 PM.
- No strollers permitted on elevator.

(simulators 5 and 6 min.)
• Ride Simulators: Choose from a variety of rides. Adventures include Space Walk, F-18 Carrier Experience, and Wings.

• Interactive Flight Simulators: Try to pilot an F-4 Phantom II or an A-7 Corsair II (aircraft in the museum's collection) in simulated jet-age combat sorties.

• Daily, 10 AM-5:30 PM

Admission
• Ride Simulator: $7.00 per person
• Interactive Flight Simulator: $8.00 per person
• Add a Simulator: $1.00 off with the purchase of an IMAX Theater ticket
• For reservations, call 202-633-4629 or 1-866-868-7774 (toll-free)

Note: Tickets available both at Box Office and Flight Simulators.

Payment Options
• At Simulator: Cash, VISA, and MasterCard
• At Box Office: Cash and major credit cards

Notes:
• Ride Simulator accommodates 8 people per ride. Children must be 42 inches tall unless accompanied by an adult.
• Interactive Flight Simulator accommodates 2 people per ride. For safety reasons, children must be 42 inches tall when riding with an adult, or 48 inches tall when riding with another child.

With the help of a docent, sit at a computer screen and use interactive software and 2-way audio/video communication headsets to simulate the roles of actual engineers and astronauts on a space mission -- either at Mission Control in Houston or on the flight deck of a space shuttle.

• Limited hours; available only when staffed by docents. Confirm times at the Udvar-Hazy Center information desk.

Admission
• Free

Quick Time Virtual Reality touch-screen computer kiosks provide a pilot's 360-degree view of the interiors of featured aircraft and spacecraft on display.

• Daily, same hours as museum

• Free

(for children and adults) Take a fun test of your skills in the Luce Foundation Center's scavenger hunt! Follow the clues to find specific artworks among the more than 3,300 objects on display.

(for families with children ages 5-11) A special area where visitors can touch animal hides, design with beads, read stories, and much more.

Through August 3, 2008:
• Daily, 10 AM-5:30 PM

Note: On Family Program days, open all day, but staff available 10:30 AM-3 PM.

Learn about Dr. George Washington Carver and how to become a steward of the earth in your own neighborhood.

• 3rd Wednesday of each month, 10 AM-1 PM (weather permitting)

Note: Not suitable for people with mobility impairments.

The Discovery Room is a hands-on room for families with children and students. The room features activities using real museum objects and artifacts that allow visitors to explore the natural world at their own pace, guided by their own interests and sense of wonder. Visitors can look at fossils, skulls, shells, and minerals; use a microscope; try on costumes from around the world; and much more. Docents are available to assist and answer questions.

Entry Procedures:
• Individuals:
- For families with children and students. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

- Walk-in, except on busy days, free, timed passes are required and are distributed at the Room's entrance.

- Tues.-Thurs., 12 Noon-2:30 PM
- Fri., 10:30 AM-2:30 PM
- Sat. and Sun., 10:30 AM-3:30 PM

• School Groups:
October-May: by reservation only; 3-week notice required; call 202-633-1071 or 202-633-9287 (TTY); for information, visit the Web at www.mnh.si.edu/education/discoveryroom.htm

Visitors can watch through large windows museum technicians at work removing fossilized dinosaur remains from blocks of earth.

Note: Although there is no set schedule when staff are working in the lab, visitors can still see the lab and examples of fossils at various stages being extracted.

A special facility where visitors can watch -- and hold -- live insects and their many legged relatives, discover the amazing diversity of arthropods, and learn how scientists study insect life.

• Open daily, same hours as museum

Tarantula Feedings (unless otherwise posted):
• Every Tues.- Fri., 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 1:30 PM
• Every Sat., Sun., 11:30 AM, 12:30 PM, and 1:30 PM

Note: Group reservations are no longer available, but group leader packets still available; call the museum's Education Office at 202-633-1077 or 202-633-9287 (TTY).

A resource center of some 36,000 natural history and anthropological specimens where visitors, students, collectors, and natural history lovers can handle and study these objects, identify their own treasures, do research, draw, and more.

• Every Tues.-Sat., 10:30 AM-4 PM

Except
• Most federal holidays, closed

Note: The Center is closed during severe weather when hazardous driving conditions exist (e.g., snow, ice). Recommend callers/visitors call 703-779-9712 (voice), 800-729-7725 (voice), or 202-633-9287 (NMNH's TTY) for directions, information, and weather-related closings.

Entry Procedures:
• Individuals:
- Walk-in, free. Visitors must be 10 years of age or older to visit the main study gallery. A small Family Learning Center is available for younger guests.

• Groups:
- Groups of 6 or more admitted with advance reservations only; 2- to 4-week notice required.

- Call 703-779-9712 (voice), 800-729-7725 (voice), or 202-633-9287 (NMNH's TTY) for information.

-- Lecture Series
• Saturdays, May 10, 24, and 31, 1-2:30 PM
See Chron. section of Calendar for details.

Hours
(weather permitting and based on staff availability)

• March 1-Sept. 6: 10 AM-5:30 PM daily

• Sept. 7-Feb. 28: 11 AM-5 PM daily
Except Dec. 25, closed

Admission
• $2.50 per person

Note: Every Carousel rider over 1 year old must purchase a ticket, including adults accompanying children.

• Schedule subject to change; confirm at Zoo Info Desk in the Visitor Center (formerly Education Building).

• Every Sat. and Sun., 2 PM

• Daily, 11 AM

• Every Fri.-Sun., 11 AM

• Daily, 11 AM and 3 PM

• Every Sat. and Sun., 10:30 AM

• Daily, 11:30 AM

Entry Procedures
• Individuals:
- Walk-in. For ages 5-10 with an adult. Limit of 25 at a time.

- Sat. and Sun., 10 AM-4 PM; call 202-633-1105 to confirm.

• Groups:
- For weekday school group tours, call 202-633-4455 (voice) or 202-673-7800 (TTY)
- For weekend group reservations, call 202-633-1105 (voice)

Note: Formerly ZooLab

Note: Schedule subject to change; confirm at Zoo Info Desk in the Visitor Center (formerly Education Building).