Description: The National Air Museum was created by a congressional act on August 12, 1946. Its name was changed to the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in 1966 as part of a congressional act authorizing a separate building to house its collections. The museum opened to the public on July 1, 1976. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located in Chantilly, Virginia, opened to the public on
Description: The National Air and Space Museum was established in 1946 to care for the Smithsonian’s growing aeronautical collections. On July 1, 1976, a new building opened on the National Mall to showcase the collection. In December of 2003, the Udvar-Hazy Center opened near Dulles Airport in Virginia to display additional collections. History of the National Air and Space