The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum revealed details on 12 galleries that will debut in the final phase of the D.C. museum's multiyear renovation, which is expected to wrap up in 2026.
Some of the upcoming exhibitions are set to include “At Home in Space," “Modern Military Aviation” and “World War I: The Birth of Military Aviation," the museum said in a news release on Jan. 30.
The Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall and "Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight” will be the first galleries from this final phase to open to the public, set for spring 2025. The museum plans to reopen its IMAX theater and the entrance on Jefferson Drive at about the same time.
First Look: Renderings show National Air and Space Museum after yearslong renovation
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Most of the new galleries will open before July 2026, in time for the museum's 50th anniversary and the United States' 250th birthday, the Smithsonian said.
Eight new galleries opened in the museum's revamped west wing in fall 2022. The renovation project began in 2018.
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More than 1,600 artifacts will be included in the new galleries, and many of them have undergone “conservation, preservation and restoration in the time since they were removed from the building for the renovation,” the Smithsonian said.
Some artifacts were previously showcased at the museum's outpost in Chantilly, Virginia, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
The National Air and Space Museum's D.C. location is free to visit, but timed-entry passes are required.
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