Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, marked the 50th anniversary of its Visitor Center, which opened in May 1976, a few weeks before the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington. The opening featured open-air exhibits, including a full-scale mockup of the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, a phone station transmitting guests’ voices via satellite, and an active meteorology station displaying real-time satellite weather views of the Western Hemisphere.
The Visitor Center was established on grounds that previously housed the WWV radio station, which relocated to Colorado in the mid-1960s due to interference with Apollo Program tests. NASA Goddard began converting the transmitter building for use as a visitor center in 1975.
Staffed by employees under NASA’s Communication Services contract and supported by volunteers, the center offers educational programs and exhibits focused on NASA’s work and the contributions of Goddard Space Flight Center. Longtime staff and volunteers emphasize the center's role in introducing visitors, including children, to space science and exploration.
In recent years, the visitor center has been updated with modern features such as a 4K science film theater, artifacts from the Hubble Space Telescope, and interactive exhibits like a custom-programmed Roman telescope video game arcade console. These additions aim to engage visitors and encourage learning about space and science.