Washington D.C’s National Air and Space Museum has been undergoing a $1 billion renovation project since 2018. While museum leadership has tried to keep the museum open during this project, last week they announced that the Air and Space Museum will close for six months in 2022 to accommodate construction.
The museum will close to visitors on March 28, 2022 and remain closed until some time in the fall. During this time, work will begin on the new west-end galleries, which will all open at the same time. According to a press release, these new galleries will include exhibits on the Wright Brothers, exploration of the Moon, and the impact of aviation on global connection, among other topics. Work on the east wing of the museum will also begin at the end of March 2022. Exhibits on this end of the museum are not slated to reopen until 2025.
While the Air and Space Museum is closed, some of its collections will be on view at other Smithsonian museums. Several meteorites will be on view at the National Museum of Natural History, and other objects can be found at the Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
More information about the renovations to the National Air and Space Museum can be found here.