National Air and Space Museum Featured in Newest Google Arts & Culture Interactive Online Exhibit

March 6, 2019
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Space shuttle Discovery

The space shuttle Discovery is the centerpiece of the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has partnered with Google Arts & Culture to launch their newest interactive online exhibit, "Once Upon A Try," which pays tribute to the stories of humanity’s greatest inventions and discoveries. The project showcases unsung heroes of invention, extraordinary stories behind ordinary objects and stories behind world-changing inventions.

“We are excited to partner with Google Arts & Culture to bring inspiring stories of ideas that defy to a wider audience,” said Ellen Stofan, John and Adrienne Mars Director of the museum. “Through ‘Once Upon A Try,’ the museum is able to highlight lesser known stories of achievement in a new way.”

Featured on the site is a 360-degree VR experience of space shuttle Discovery featuring Charlie Bolden and Kathryn Sullivan, giving viewers a rarely seen look inside the space shuttle. Some of the museum’s exhibits in the project include “Bessie Coleman, Barnstorming Through Barriers,” “How John Glenn Suited Up for Space,” “What We See When We Study the Sun” and “Black Wings: African American Pioneer Aviators.”

The interactive online collection spans millennia of human progress. Hundreds of thousands of digitized historical records, artifacts and videos have been made accessible worldwide making it the largest online exhibit about innovation. The more than 110 partners who have contributed to the collection include the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and National Zoo, NASA, CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) and other renowned science centers around the world.

The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., is located at Sixth Street and Independence Avenue S.W. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is located in Chantilly, Virginia, near Washington Dulles International Airport. Both facilities are open daily from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Admission is free, but there is a $15 fee for parking at the Udvar-Hazy Center.

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SI-86-2019

Solo Medios 

Alison Wood

202-633-2376

woodac@si.edu

Amy Stamm

202-633-2392

stamma@si.edu

Exhibitions