Hours: 10:00 am - 5:30 pm daily. Closed on December 25.

Admission: Free.

Parking: Available. Private vehicles: $12 per car. Buses: No cost.

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By Katie DePaola

Located near Washington Dulles International Airport, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is the companion facility to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. The facility opened in December 2003, as part of the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers Celebration. The Udvar-Hazy Center hosted its 5 millionth visitor on December 15, 2007.

The center originally opened with 80 aircraft and has come to include more than 150 aircraft and 140 space artifacts. Eventually, the center will accommodate 220 aircraft and 160 artifacts.

Phase two is scheduled to begin in 2009, with plans to include a restoration facility, archival storage and a library.

Frank McNally joined as the center's public affairs specialist in 2002. On average, more than 2700 visitors come to the center each day, McNally said. In 2007, their biggest day was 17,000 visitors. With 2000 parking spots, there is no problem accommodating these visitors.

"Summertime is very busy, and so is the holiday season," McNally said. "I think we are still the most visited museum in Virginia."

McNally said that the center holds 25 one-of-a-kind airplanes, which "you can't see anywhere else in the world."

Within the museum, there are about five or six icons, McNally said. These prized planes include the Lockeed Super Constellation and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, which flew coast to coast from California to Washington, D.C. in 1 hour 4 minutes and 20 seconds.

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay is the museum's one "crown jewel," McNally said. Steve Facet's Virgin Atlantic plane is another popular sight, along with the first Federal Express airplane and the space shuttle Enterprise.

McNally said that there was a sizable political battle over which region in the D.C. metro area would get the center. In the end, he said, the Virginia delegation managed to get it into Virginia, but as a result, the center received no additional federal funds. Thus, the center has been constructed almost entirely with private money, and the $12 parking fee helps pay for the center.

Museum amenities include the IMAX theater, which occasionally shows full-length films at night. The entrance level boasts a McDonald's and a McCafe, the restaurant's version of a coffee shop, as well as a gift shop.

For those interested in reenacting an airplane adventure, pay-to-ride simulators are available downstairs. For an interesting view of the D.C. metro area, visitors can take an elevator ride up to the 164 ft. circular observation tower, where they can watch planes land and take off from Dulles Airport.

According to McNally, one unique aspect of the museum is the Aerospace Educators in Resident program. Each year, two teachers from local schools come to the center to work with various school systems and coordinate school visits. In 2008, a math teacher and former B-52 pilot came to work with the center.

Special events include African American Pioneers in Aviation in February, Women in Aviation and Space Day in March and Become a Pilot in June, where more than 50 additional vintage, military, recreational and homebuilt aircraft are brought to the center. The planes land at the nearby Dulles Airport, taxi to the center and line up outside of the building. Visitors can talk to pilots, ask questions about flying and listen to a variety of guest speakers.

On regular visiting days, docents guide tours at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Each tour includes about 20 to 25 people.