The Towneplace Suites by Marriott – Dulles Air and Space Museum
The Towneplace Suites by Marriott at Dulles Airport is just ten minutes from one of the most exciting attractions in the Washington DC area.
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport is the companion facility to the Museum on the National Mall. The building opened in December, 2003, and provides enough space for the Smithsonian to display the thousands of aviation and space artifacts that cannot be exhibited on the National Mall. The two sites together showcase the largest collection of aviation and space artifacts in the world.
Visitors to the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center admire the Monocoupe 110 Special Little Butch and other aircraft hanging from 10-story-high trusses.
The Center was named in honor of its major donor, and features the large Boeing Aviation Hangar in which aircraft are displayed on three levels. Visitors can walk among aircraft and small artifacts in display cases located on the floor, and view aircraft hanging from the arched ceiling on elevated skywalks. Many engines, helicopters, ultra-lights, and experimental flying machines are on display in a museum setting for the first time. Among the aviation artifacts on display are the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest jet in the world; the Boeing Dash 80, the prototype of the 707; the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay; and the deHavilland Chipmunk aerobatic airplane.
The space shuttle Enterprise is the centerpiece of the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.
The James S. McDonnell Space Hangar opened in November 2004 and displays hundreds of famous spacecraft, rockets, satellites and space-related small artifacts. The centerpiece of the space hangar is the Space Shuttle Enterprise. Other space artifacts include the Gemini VII space capsule; the Mobile Quarantine Unit used upon the return of the Apollo 11 crew; and a Redstone rocket.
In addition, the Donald D. Engen Observation Tower provides an excellent location from which visitors can watch air traffic at Dulles Airport.
The Center also offers an IMAX® Theater; flight simulators; food service; a museum store; free docent tours; daily educational programs; and school group tours and activities are available.
A special feature of the Center is the National Aviation and Space Exploration Wall of Honor. Situated along the entryway to the Center, the Wall of Honor is a permanent memorial to the thousands of people who have contributed to our aviation and space exploration heritage. Names of honorees are inscribed on the air-foil-shaped wall, which will continue to grow in the years to come.
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