The National Air and Space Museum is one of the most-visited museums in the world. It is home to hundreds of artifacts, including the first Wright brothers' airplane, Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 command module and the space suits worn by the first humans on the moon. Be sure to visit the museum's other location, the expansive Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, near Washington Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia), which showcases the space shuttle Enterprise and the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay.

First Floor

Milestones of Flight (100): Just steps inside the doors of the museum, look up to see the Spirit of St. Louis, which Lindbergh piloted for the first solo nonstop trans-Atlantic flight; the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis, the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound; the North American X-15, the fastest rocket-powered aircraft ever flown; and SpaceShipOne, the first privately developed piloted vehicle to reach space. At floor level, touch a real moon rock and see the space capsules Friendship 7, Gemini IV and Apollo 11.

America by Air (102): Packed with historic aircraft, including a Douglas DC-3, a Ford Tri-Motor, a Pitcairn PA-5 Mailwing and the nose of a 747, this gallery explores the history of passenger air travel in the United States. Step inside a Boeing 747 and a Douglas DC-7 and experience an A320 cockpit simulation of a takeoff and landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Flight Simulator Zone (103): Control the action. Climb aboard a simulator and try your hand at aerial combat. Seating for two, $8 per person. Or choose an adventure aboard a ride simulator and experience aviation ride films such as "Space Walk," "Cosmic Coaster," "F-18 Experience" or "Wings." Seating for eight, $7 per person.

Golden Age of Flight (105): Learn the stories of record-breaking aviators like Roscoe Turner, Amelia Earhart and Jimmy Doolittle, who thrilled fans with their derring-do between the two world wars. The centerpiece is the Hughes H-1 racer, in which Howard Hughes achieved world speed records in 1935 and 1937.

Jet Aviation (106): In 1939, a pioneering type of aircraft engine developed by a German engineer ushered in a new age in aviation. Don't miss three jet-age icons, the German Messerschmitt Me 262, the Lockheed XP-80 Lulu-Belle and the first jet fighter used by the Navy and Marine Corps, the McDonnell FH-1 Phantom.

Early Flight (107): See the world's first military airplane, the 1909 Wright Military Flyer; and the French Bleriot XI, the most popular pre-World War I monoplane.

How Things Fly (109): Dozens of kid-friendly gadgets and games teach the four principles of flight—weight, lift, thrust and drag. Activities abound: find out your weight on the moon, hop into the cockpit of a Cessna or learn to make an award-winning paper airplane.

Looking at Earth (110): Study the ingenious ways humans have struggled to better view the planet. See a tiny 1903 camera that could be strapped to a pigeon, as well as the Cold War era's U-2 spy plane.

Explore the Universe (111): Examine the technology used to peer far into the cosmos, from antique astrolabes to today's telescopes.

Lunar Exploration Vehicles (112): This gallery displays a constellation of vehicles used for lunar exploration. Dominating the space is an authentic lunar module, the second one built for the Apollo program. Six more like it landed astronauts on the moon.

Moving Beyond Earth (113): Explore the opportunities and challenges of human space flight on the shuttle, space station and on the ground. At computer kiosks, learn what it was like to be mission control's flight director keeping a shuttle mission on track. Historic artifacts include astronaut gear, space suit gloves and the suit worn by space tourist Dennis Tito.

Space Race (114): A giant black-and-white V-2 rocket marks the entrance to the gallery, home to a spectacular collection of rare items from the earliest days of human space exploration, including space suits once worn by Yuri Gagarin and John Glenn.

Second Floor

Sea-Air Operations (203): Come aboard the quarterdeck of the fictitious USS Smithsonian. As a member of the crew, watch aircraft take off and land from the deck, and learn the history of ship-based flight.

Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (204): This gallery showcases six aircraft representing the beauty, speed and capability of modern unmanned flight systems technology.

World War II Aviation (205): Explore the history of land-based fighter aviation among five major combatants—Germany, Japan, Britain, Italy and the United States.

Legend, Memory and the Great War in the Air (206): See rare airplanes, including the German Pfalz D.XII, Albatros D. Va and Fokker D. VII fighters; a British Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe fighter; and French SPAD XIII fighter and Voisin VIII bomber.

Exploring the Planets (207): Learn about the trailblazing robotic spacecraft that have revolutionized scientific understanding of our solar system. Sections devoted to each planet form the core of the gallery. See a full-sized replica of a Mars Exploration Rover and continually updated images from current missions.

Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight (208): Explore the formative decades in aviation—the 1920s and 1930s. See such pioneering aircraft as Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega. Families, bring your children ages 3 to 8 to play at Don's Air Service. Enjoy story times, play dress-up or see a puppet show. Older kids will love the digital interactives that let them fly a mission with the Tuskegee Airmen, plan a flight around the world or design an airplane.

The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age (209): Learn the story of how Wilbur and Orville Wright solved the problems of powered flight and helped change the world. See the world-famous 1903 Wright Flyer.

Apollo to the Moon (210): On July 20, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong descended the ladder of lunar module Eagle and took the first steps on the moon. Space suits and other artifacts tell of the quest to send humans to the moon.

NASA/Art: 50 Years of Exploration (211): (May 28, 2011-Oct. 9, 2011). Drawn from archival works held by NASA and the museum, this exhibition features 72 paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures and other media by such artists as Annie Leibovitz, Norman Rockwell, Andy Warhol and Jamie Wyeth.

Find It:

Wright Flyer
Second floor, Gallery 209, top of escalator

Spirit of St. Louis—Milestones of Flight
Gallery 100; best view is from the second floor

Apollo 11 command module
On the first floor, Milestones of Flight, Gallery 100

DC-7 Climb aboard—America by Air
Gallery 102

How Things Fly
Gallery 109, next to the welcome center

Enola Gay
On view at the Udvar-Hazy Center

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