The Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum maintains the largest collection of historic aviation- and space-related objects in the world. It is also a vital center for research into the history, science, and technology of aviation and space flight, as well as planetary science and terrestrial geology and geophysics.

The Museum has two display facilities. The National Mall building in Washington, D.C. has hundreds of artifacts on display including the original Wright 1903 Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 command module, and a lunar rock sample that visitors can touch. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center displays many more artifacts including the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay and Space Shuttle Enterprise.

The National Air and Space Museum offers a variety of free educational programs for school groups and organized youth groups. See http://www.nasm.si.edu/education for more information.

Lincoln and Thaddeus Lowe Objects in the Collection
The National Air and Space Museum has several objects related to the Civil War ballooning era, including balloon parts, Thaddeus Lowe’s binoculars used during balloon ascents, souvenir tokens, and lithographs.

The Birth of the Balloon Art Collection
This collection of prints documents and celebrates the invention and early history of the Balloon.

Balloonamania
This display case on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center brings together a rare collection of objects related to early Balloon flight. Play the video below to learn more.

Hear Tom Crouch, Senior Curator in the Aeronautics Division at the
National Air and Space Museum, talk about Balloonamania. Crouch is the presenter of an online session entitled "Mr. Lincoln’s Air Force"which is being featured at the Lincoln Online Conference.

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