The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum opened five renovated galleries on July 1, exactly 50 years after its National Mall building first welcomed visitors in Washington.

The opening is the third major phase of a renovation that redesigns all 20 galleries while replacing exterior cladding, aging mechanical systems and other building infrastructure. Two remaining renovated galleries are scheduled to open in fall 2026.

The five new spaces cover a broad arc: the Flight and the Arts Center; Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air; U.S. National Science Foundation Discovering Our Universe; RTX Living in the Space Age; and TEXTRON How Things Fly.

Graphic says five galleries opened July 1, two more are due in fall and all 20 galleries are included in the renovation.
Five galleries opened on the building’s 50th anniversary; two remaining renovated galleries are scheduled for fall.Boho News graphic from Smithsonian National Air and Space MuseumView source

The artifact list mixes familiar icons with objects displayed in new contexts. It includes an Il-2 Shturmovik, Blue Origin New Shepard rocket, North American P-51D Mustang, Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6, the Hubble Space Telescope, Skylab and an instrument used by Vera Rubin in evidence for dark matter.

How Things Fly is built around participation. The redesigned gallery includes nearly 50 interactives and a Cessna Skyhawk visitors can sit in while exploring how forces act on aircraft and spacecraft.

The arts center opens with two exhibitions, including a Robert Rauschenberg show focused on flight and a broader presentation of artistic interpretations of air and space. That makes art a permanent part of the building’s new interpretive structure rather than a side program.

Graphic groups the new galleries into hands-on flight science, space technology, aviation history and art.
The July openings span flight science, space technology, military aviation history and art.Boho News graphic from Smithsonian National Air and Space MuseumView source

The renovation has opened in stages. Eight new or reimagined exhibitions, the planetarium, shop and café returned in October 2022. Five more exhibitions opened in July 2025. The latest five bring most of the building back before the final pair arrives.

Admission to the Washington museum remains free, but timed-entry passes are required. The separate Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly does not require timed passes, though parking is paid.

The anniversary is therefore both a celebration and a construction marker. The museum can now show more of its national aerospace collection in redesigned galleries, while its own schedule makes clear that full completion depends on the two fall openings.