Virginia Air and Space Science Center
100 D Bridge St, Hampton, VA
Hampton, VA
The visitor center for NASA Langley, where a spacecraft that flew to the moon and back shares the hall with jet fighters and hands-on science.
The Virginia Air and Space Science Center in downtown Hampton is the official visitor center for NASA's Langley Research Center, one of the oldest and most important aeronautics laboratories in the country. Inside a bright, wing-shaped building on the Hampton waterfront, aircraft hang from the soaring roof and hands-on exhibits fill the floor, tracing the story of flight and space that Langley helped write.
Its most remarkable object is the Apollo 12 command module, the actual spacecraft that carried three astronauts to the moon and safely home in 1969. Around it the center gathers historic aircraft, spaceflight artifacts, and interactive science stations, and its close bond with the working NASA lab next door gives the place a rare authenticity: this is where much of American flight and early space history was actually engineered.
What Guests Love
- The Apollo 12 command module, a real spacecraft that carried astronauts to the moon and back
- Aircraft suspended overhead, from historic fighters to gliders, filling the great hall
- Hands-on science exhibits and flight simulators that make it a hit with families
- Its direct tie to NASA Langley, the historic hub of American aeronautics and early spaceflight
Worth Knowing
- This is the official visitor center for NASA Langley Research Center next door
- The hands-on exhibits and simulators make it especially good for children
- It sits on the walkable Hampton waterfront, easy to combine with the harbor and downtown
- Traveling exhibits and an IMAX theater mean the offerings change through the year
Details
Hampton, VA
Learn about Virginia Air and Space Science Center
The lab next door: NASA Langley
Langley, established in 1917, is the nation's first civilian aeronautics laboratory, the place where generations of engineers tested wings, propellers, and airframes in giant wind tunnels and where the science of flight was steadily advanced. When the space age arrived, Langley took the lead in the earliest human spaceflight work, and it was here that NASA's first astronaut group, the Mercury Seven, trained for their missions.
The science center serves as the public face of that history. Because Langley itself is a secure research facility, the center gives visitors a way to connect with the discoveries made there, from the aeronautical breakthroughs of the early twentieth century to the launch of humans into orbit and toward the moon. The story it tells is not borrowed, it is local: much of it happened just next door.
Apollo 12 and the machines of flight
The centerpiece is the Apollo 12 command module, named Yankee Clipper, the pressurized capsule that carried astronauts Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, and Dick Gordon on the second mission to land humans on the moon in November 1969. This is the genuine spacecraft, scorched by the heat of reentry, and standing before it is a direct link to one of humanity's great adventures.
Overhead and around the hall, the center gathers aircraft spanning the history of flight, from early designs and historic military jets to gliders and modern craft, many suspended so visitors can see them from below. Together the collection lets you trace the arc from the first fragile flying machines to the spacecraft that left Earth entirely, all under one roof.
Science you can touch
Beyond the hardware, the center is built for hands-on learning, with interactive exhibits, flight simulators, and demonstrations that invite visitors, especially children, to experiment with the principles of flight, aerodynamics, and space travel. It is as much a science museum as an aviation collection, and families often find it holds young attention far longer than a hall of static displays.
An IMAX theater adds large-format films on space, nature, and science, and traveling exhibitions rotate through the galleries. The blend of a real moon-flown spacecraft, historic aircraft, and playful hands-on science gives the center wide appeal, drawing serious aviation buffs and curious kids alike.
Hampton and the harbor
The science center sits on the downtown Hampton waterfront, one of the oldest continuously English-speaking settlements in the country, founded in the early 1600s. The harbor of Hampton Roads, one of the world's great natural anchorages, spreads out beyond, and the region's deep maritime and military history surrounds the museum.
A visit fits neatly into a wider Hampton Roads trip. The naval city of Norfolk lies across the water, the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown is up the peninsula, and the beaches of Virginia Beach are a short drive away, making the science center one anchor of a region rich in both history and things to do.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Hampton
Hampton waterfront
At the center
The historic downtown harbor of one of the oldest English settlements in America, with docks and river views.
Fort Monroe
About 4 miles
A great stone fortress on the harbor, a National Monument tied to the story of freedom during the Civil War.
The Mariners' Museum
About 10 miles up the peninsula
One of the world's largest maritime museums, home to the recovered turret of the ironclad Monitor.
Colonial Williamsburg
About 30 miles up the peninsula, a 40 minute drive
The restored eighteenth-century capital at the heart of Virginia's colonial history.