Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Art of the Airport Tower

Smithsonian photographer Carolyn Russo elevates airport towers to beautiful objects of art.

November 11, 2015 – November 30, 2016

Air and Space Museum

Milestones of Flight

This gallery features famous airplanes and spacecraft that exemplify the major achievements in the history of flight.

July 1, 1976 – June 30, 2016

Air and Space Museum

Above and Beyond

Packed with interactive challenges this exhibition invites you to experience what it takes to make impossible dreams take flight.

August 1, 2015 – January 3, 2016

Air and Space Museum

Hawaii by Air

In the early days of flight, getting to Hawaii, one of the most remote places on Earth, was a challenge. See how things have changed since then.

July 25, 2014 – August 23, 2015

Air and Space Museum

Outside the Spacecraft: 50 Years of Extra-Vehicular Activity

This exhibition presents art, photography, artifacts, and personal accounts that relate the continuing story of EVA.

January 8, 2015 – June 8, 2015

Air and Space Museum

Spirit & Opportunity: 10 Years Roving across Mars

See amazing images from Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity on the 10th anniversary of their landings on the Red Planet.

January 3, 2014 – September 14, 2014

Air and Space Museum

U.S.S. Starship Enterprise Model

This model of the starship Enterprise was used in the filming of the Star Trek TV show, which ran from 1966 to 1969.

1976 – September 10, 2014

Air and Space Museum

Red Bull Stratos: Mission to the Edge of Space

See the pressurized balloon gondola in which Felix Baumgartner traveled to the edge of space.

April 2, 2014 – May 26, 2014

Air and Space Museum

Views of Africa

Explore diverse perspectives of the Earth, focusing on the dynamic landscapes of Africa.

August 15, 2013 – February 16, 2014

Air and Space Museum

High Art: A Decade of Collecting

See how contemporary artists have depicted flight and space.

July 26, 2013 – January 1, 2014

Air and Space Museum

The Incredible Bionic Man

See the Bionic Man, a 6-foot-tall robot built entirely from bionic body parts and implantable synthetic organs.

October 18, 2013 – December 10, 2013

Air and Space Museum

Searching for Goldilocks

Angela Palmer's glass sculpture captures the excitement of the Kepler Space Observatory's quest for planets that might fit the criteria for life: not too hot, not too cold, but just right.

July 26, 2013 – December 1, 2013

Air and Space Museum

Suited for Space

Witness the modern technological marvel that is the spacesuit.

July 26, 2013 – December 1, 2013

Air and Space Museum

Leonardo da Vinci's Codex on the Flight of Birds

See how Leonardo da Vinci used his observations of birds to work out how humans could fly.

September 13, 2013 – October 22, 2013

Air and Space Museum

Fly Marines! The Centennial of Marine Corps Aviation: 1912-2012

See artwork and artifacts tracing the 100-year history of Marine Corps aviation.

January 14, 2012 – January 13, 2013

Air and Space Museum

AirCraft: The Jet as Art

Jeffery Milstein's supersized images of aircraft in flight transform aviation technology into fine art.

November 25, 2011 – November 25, 2012

Air and Space Museum

Landsat: Four Decades of Earth Observation

Learn how the Landsat satellite series has monitored changes on the Earth's surface since 1972.

July 23, 2012 – August 20, 2012

Air and Space Museum

NASA / ART: 50 Years of Exploration

Art commissioned by the NASA Art Program communicates the accomplishments, setbacks, and sheer excitement of space exploration over the past five decades.

May 28, 2011 – October 10, 2011

Air and Space Museum

From Earth to the Solar System

View 30 images that make connections between our home planet and the rest of the solar system.

June 1, 2011 – July 10, 2011

Air and Space Museum

Beyond the Limits: Flight Enters the Computer Age

The gallery illustrates how the electronic computer has revolutionized aerospace engineering, aviation, and spaceflight.

May 12, 1989 – May 23, 2011

Air and Space Museum

Beyond: Visions of Our Solar System

View some 148 images of the Sun, the planets, and their moons taken over the last 50 years by unmanned robotic space probes.

May 26, 2010 – May 2, 2011

Air and Space Museum

Alan Bean: Painting Apollo, First Artist on Another World

View approximately 40 original paintings and drawings of the moon's landscape, fellow Apollo moonwalkers, and views of Earth from space by Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean.

July 16, 2009 – January 13, 2010

Air and Space Museum

Universal Dimensions: The Space Art of Wang Ming

See 35 works by Chinese painter and former air traffic controller Wang Ming.

April 9, 2009 – October 9, 2009

Air and Space Museum

From Earth to the Universe

Visit a bilingual (English and Spanish) exhibition that features some 50 large-scale images of a variety of astronomical objects -- from Earth to the farthest corners of the universe.

July 6, 2009 – July 27, 2009

Air and Space Museum

Spectacular Saturn: Images from the Cassini-Huygens Mission

Marvel at 60 images of the amazing Saturn system, taken by the Cassini-Huygens mission.

February 2, 2009 – May 15, 2009

Air and Space Museum