Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

1986: A Year for Space Science: Comet Halley

Visit these small installations that include a videotape of Comet Halley.

January 1, 1986 – December 18, 1986

Second Great International Paper Airplane Contest Winners

See the 40 winning entries in the Second Great International Paper Airplane Contest sponsored by NASM, Science 85 and Seattle's Museum of Flight, along with the paper airplane flown by Senator Jake Garn on a recent space shuttle mission.

July 24, 1985 – November 4, 1986

Air and Space Museum

Ultra-Light Aircraft

Visit eight of these lightweight craft, owned by members of the Experimental Aircraft Association.

July 5, 1986 – July 6, 1986

Air and Space Museum

Comet Quest: The Search for Halley's Comet

This small exhibition of 19th-century books, photographs, and illustrations complements the Planetarium program Comet Quest which looks at the lore and lure of comets from ancient times to the present -- including Halley's Comet, expected to be visible in 1985-86.

November 1, 1984 – April 30, 1986

Air and Space Museum

President Harry S. Truman Centennial: The Berlin Airlift

View photographs and memorabilia from the Berlin airlift, highlighting the role of the Truman Administration.

May 8, 1984 – March 31, 1986

Air and Space Museum

Fire and Ice (Comet Art)

Discover iconographic representations of comets through drawings, paintings, illuminated manuscripts, and sculptures, ranging from ancient Babylonian clay tablets to a 20th-century Lalique hood ornament.

October 24, 1985 – March 31, 1986

Air and Space Museum

John Safer: Sculptor

See 13 sleek, contemporary, minimalist sculptures by Washington, D.C., artist John Safer, known for his non- representational works in Lucite, brass, bronze, and granite.

September 12, 1985 – December 11, 1985

Air and Space Museum

Space Tools

Visit a small exhibition featuring tools used in space missions.

June 21, 1985 – November 30, 1985

Air and Space Museum

Sightseeing: A Space Panorama

Admire NASA photographs, taken in space, compiled by Peter Riva during a summer workshop in Arles, France.

September 6, 1985 – October 25, 1985

Air and Space Museum

Crossroads (Calder Gouache)

Visit Alexander Calder's Crossroads , donated to NASM and displayed as part of RAP's 20th Anniversary.

September 1, 1985 – September 30, 1985

Air and Space Museum

Focus on Flight: Four Decades of Aerial Photography (Rudy Arnold and Hans Groenhoff)

View 100 photographs by Rudy Arnold and Hans Groenhoff, featuring record-setting events and aircraft in their surroundings, that portray aviation from the mid-1920s through the 1950s.

November 16, 1984 – September 2, 1985

Air and Space Museum

The Art of Robert McCall

View a major retrospective of Robert McCall highlighting his visionary paintings of cities of the future, his work on the movies 2001, The Black Hole, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and his career illustrating books and magazines.

September 26, 1984 – August 5, 1985

Air and Space Museum

Northrop N-1M Flying Wing

See the "flying wing," John K. Northrop's bright-yellow aircraft with its clean, simple design that epitomizes the technological developments that occurred during the "golden age of flight."

April 5, 1984 – July 30, 1985

Air and Space Museum

The de Havilland DH-4 (from "Flaming Coffin" to Living Legend)

This aircraft, the most used U.S. combat aircraft in World War I, was on view in the Arts and Industries Building for many years.

November 16, 1984 – June 30, 1985

Air and Space Museum

1905 - 1985: 80 Years of Aerospace History

See 10 photographs portraying great events in aerospace history, including the flight of the 1st seaplane, the 1st spacewalk (by a Russian), and the 1stAmerican spacewalk.

January 16, 1985 – June 30, 1985

Air and Space Museum

The Preservation of the Wright Flyer

The Wright brothers' Flyer, usually on view in Milestones of Flight, is being restored, in the first extensive work to be done on the Flyer since Orville Wright prepared it for exhibition in 1916.

February 8, 1985 – June 13, 1985

Air and Space Museum

Jacqueline Cochran: World Record Holder

Learn about the career of Jacqueline Cochran, who held more speed, altitude, and distance records than any pilot in history.

February 11, 1982 – March 31, 1985

Air and Space Museum

Aviation Anniversaries: 1934, The Watershed Year in Air Transportation

Examine models of a Sikorsky S-42 and a Douglas DC-2, aircraft considered to be far superior to their antecedents.

September 1, 1984 – January 15, 1985

Air and Space Museum

John Olson: Concepts for Space

View 21 watercolors by American artist/engineer John Olson, who works at Boeing to create concepts for future space stations, satellites, heavy launch vehicles, and other space craft.

September 27, 1984 – January 2, 1985

Air and Space Museum

Early Flight: 1900-1911 (Wright's Photography Collection)

Take in 56 photographs from the Wright brothers' personal photograph collection of their flying machine, many of which were taken by the brothers themselves,

November 28, 1984 – December 30, 1984

Air and Space Museum

Aerial Aircraft Carriers

See photographs and a film telling the story of aircraft (mother-ships) that carry other aircraft (parasites)--for example, the Space Shuttle traveling cross-country perched atop a 747.

November 23, 1981 – November 18, 1984

Air and Space Museum

Energy Awareness Week

See some 20 mini-exhibits from government agencies and private entities on various aspects of energy.

October 19, 1984 – October 28, 1984

Air and Space Museum

Golden Age of Flight: Art Exhibition

See thirty art works by young American artists, selected from contest entries.

April 5, 1984 – September 3, 1984

Air and Space Museum

At Home in the Sky: Aviation Art of Frank Wootton

See a retrospective including 57 paintings and sketches of civil and military aircraft, landscapes, and equestrian subjects by Frank Wootton, considered the foremost aviation artist today.

September 15, 1983 – August 26, 1984

Air and Space Museum

German-American Aerospace Heritage

View photographs and career highlights about German-Americans such as Werner von Braun, Eddie Rickenbacker, Edward Heinemann, Grover Loening, William Boeing, and Hans von Ohain.

October 6, 1983 – April 12, 1984

Air and Space Museum