Photo by m01229
The National Air and Space Museum announced yesterday that its 40th anniversary will include the site’s first-ever all night party. The museum is celebrating its flagship building on July 1 with live music, tours, film screenings, booze, and more.
In addition, the Milestones of Flight Hall, the museum’s central gallery space, will feature new digital displays and a mobile experience in its first renovation since opening in 1967. While guests have been able to enter through the grand hall, it’s been under construction since the fall of 2014. “This 21st century transformation helps us honor the past innovations while inspiring future innovations,” museum director Gen. J.R. “Jack” Dailey said when renovations began.
The overhaul was made possible by a $30 million donation from Boeing—the largest single corporate gift ever donated to the Smithsonian. As such, the space is now called the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall.
Another sizable contribution was made by the public last summer when the Smithsonian launched a campaign to raise $500,000 to get Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit out of a storage room and on display. The Smithsonian raised nearly half that sum within a day after the Kickstarter went live.
And last September, the museum announced that the Apollo Lunar Module, which was housed in the east end since it opened in 1976, was relocated to the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall. The Module, the Smithsonian said, “has been placed in position to create a dramatic centerpiece for the exhibition,” and will “act as a striking welcome to visitors as they enter the museum and represent the ‘milestone’ of America’s first moon landing, in July 1969.”
Continuing its renovations, earlier this year, the museum’s Lockheed Martin Theater was converted from 70mm to IMAX with laser digital projection.
The July 1 anniversary event will kick off with a ceremony featuring music by the U.S. Air Force Band and remarks by aviation and space heroes, among others. After the ceremony, “All Night at the Museum” will commence, allowing visitors to explore the entire museum throughout the night.
Current exhibits include Art of the Airport Tower, a photographic journey to airports across the country, Early Flight, which evokes the atmosphere of the first the first decade of flight, and more.
An adult reception, which requires tickets, will feature an open bar, gallery hopping, and discussions with special guests. Tickets will go on sale later next month. Anyone who can’t last all night, can take part in the anniversary celebration via a live webcast.
