This fully illustrated guide to the world's most-visited aviation and space museum is both an indispensable companion for visitors and a detailed history in itself of humanity's quest for flight. The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum maintains the world's largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft plus an amazing assortment of other historic objects. Many fascinating items from the twenty-three galleries and two off-site facilities—including the Wright Flyer, Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1, and the spacesuits worn by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin—are presented here in 200 full-color photographs, accompanied by their equally intriguing stories.

Experience the thrill of flying some of the world's most important airplanes and spacecraft. Best of the National Air and Space Museum provides unprecedented access to the most popular museum in the world. The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum hosts an average of seven million visits every year. The Udvar-Hazy Center—three football fields long and ten stories high—receives more than one million visits annually. Best of the National Air and Space Museum features the best of both museums, from the Challenger space shuttle and the Wright flyer to the Spirit of St. Louis and the stealth bomber. Robert Van der Linden, curator of aeronautics, has selected the most important, popular, and just plain impressive aircraft and spacecraft from the collections of both museums to be showcased in this beautiful book. Each page spread includes intriguing facts of the item's design, use, mission, specifications, and dimensions. A must-have for space and aviation buffs.

The best way to see—really see—any city is on foot. The perennial favorite Washington on Foot has been completely revised and updated to offer 24 walking tours of Washington's neighborhoods. Familiar monuments and museums are all here, side-by-side with lesser-known historic sites and storied residential neighborhoods. Washington on Foot offers history, culture, architecture, urban planning, and more. It's the complete city in a tidy package and the only "outdoor" Washington guidebook needed. Ideal not only for visitors but for locals who truly want to get to know their city. The updated fifth edition of this essential guide features user-friendly maps, architectural illustrations, historical and culture information, and much more.

From Dorothy's red slippers to dinosaurs to the Wright brothers' plane, the Smithsonian is filled with objects fascinating to kids. Yet choosing what to see at the Smithsonian can challenge even the most enthusiastic families. Packed with activities, information, and pictures, this lively new guide offers children ages 8-12 years a way to navigate the Smithsonian. Engaging maps, photographs, and illustrations present the main museum halls along with puzzles, games, mad libs, and pages for journal entries, drawings, and superlatives that will help get kids ready for their big trip to the nation's capital and keep them focused and attentive as they navigate the world's largest museum complex that is the Smithsonian Institution. Awesome Adventures at the Smithsonian (spiral bound) is the perfect way to engage any child on their big trip to Washington, DC, and the Smithsonian.

The go-to guide for visitors who want to maximize their experience at the Smithsonian’s 19 museums and National Zoo The Smithsonian holds more than 155 million artifacts and specimens in its trust. The Official Guide to the Smithsonian makes navigating the world’s largest museum complex more efficient and fulfilling. Featuring a huge amount of history, highlights, and pertinent museum information, the colorful guide is designed to enrich time spent in the Smithsonian’s incredible galleries and museums on the National Mall, the Washington metropolitan area, and New York City. The new 2021 edition features major updates for all the museums. This includes a full treatment of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the most recent Smithsonian museum, as well as the Deep Time hall at the National Museum of Natural History, their new fossil hall that displays towering fossils of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures to explore the epic story of Earth. Each detailed section presents the history of the museum and offers a fully illustrated, gallery-by-gallery tour. It also includes all the practical information such as location, hours, phone numbers, public transportation, services, tours, dining, gift shops, special attractions for children, and website addresses. With so much to see and do across the vast Smithsonian collections, this is the definitive source of information in one place.