Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington
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National Aviation Day - An old dream takes flight
Established in 1939 to honor Orville Wright's birthday, National Aviation Day kicks off a week-long celebration of America's long history of flight. Pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright designed, built, and flew the world's first engine-powered airplane near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. America's love of flight, however, goes all the way back to 1793, when President George Washington watched a hot air balloon launch in Philadelphia.
Today, let your imagination soar at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. With nearly 200 airplanes and spacecraft, dozens of exhibits, and thousands of artifacts, the museum is the largest independent air and space museum in the world. If you can't get to the museum in person, it has numerous online resources to explore. Feel free to daydream about life among the clouds and stars—your fellow Americans have been doing it for more than 200 years.