In between shows, you can view the exhibits; audio tours are also available for rental. Interactive computers and slide and video shows enhance the exhibits throughout.

Highlights of the first floor include famous airplanes (such as the Spirit of St. Louis) and spacecraft (the Apollo 11 Command Module); the world's only touchable moon rock; numerous exhibits on the history of aviation and air transportation; galleries in which you can design your own jet plane and study astronomy; and rockets, lunar-exploration vehicles, manned spacecraft, and guided missiles.

"How Things Fly," a gallery that opened in 1996 to celebrate the museum's 20th anniversary, includes wind and smoke tunnels, a boardable Cessna 150 airplane, and dozens of interactive exhibits that demonstrate principles of flight, aerodynamics, and propulsion. All the aircraft, by the way, are originals.

Kids love the "walk-through" Skylab orbital workshop on the second floor. Other galleries here highlight the solar system; U.S. manned space flights; sea-air operations; aviation during both world wars; and artists' perceptions of flight. An important exhibit is "Beyond the Limits: Flight Enters the Computer Age," illustrating the primary applications of computer technology to aerospace.

An attractive cafeteria and a restaurant, Flight Line and the Wright Place, respectively, are on the premises.