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"We've tested every military aircraft that's ever flown," Ames Research Center Historian Jack Boyd, who began working at Ames in 1947, said at a celebration of NASA Ames' 70th anniversary this week.

And every spacecraft, too, he added.

Boyd, NASA Ames Director Pete Worden and Mountain View Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga cited decades of research and history during a Monday evening celebration of NASA Ames' 70th anniversary.

The ceremony kicked off an extended exhibit that will be available for viewing through the end of the year.

Businesses along Castro, California and Villa streets will all have NASA Ames history exhibits on display, including historical photos of Moffett Field, a six-foot centrifuge, a three-dimensional panorama of Mars and information about how humans can live and work in space. The celebration Monday was hosted by Meyer Appliance on Castro Street.

NASA Ames' origins date back to Dec. 20, 1939, with the establishment at Moffett Field as a site for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The site was picked by a committee led by Charles Lindbergh, who flew to Moffett Field to see the site for himself while it was still a Navy base.

NACA became NASA in 1958, but aeronautics continues to be a major focus at Ames, which employs 2,400 people.

Several key concepts in aerodynamics, including the swept wing, have been developed in what Ames calls the world's greatest collection of wind tunnels -- including the world's largest wind tunnel, which measures 80 by 120 feet.

Exhibit locations include Meyer Appliance at 278 Castro St., Custom Fitness at 650 Castro, Fenwick & West at 801 California St., Mountain View City Hall, Global Beads at 345 Castro, Book Buyers at 317 Castro, Tap Plastics at 312 Castro Street, Red Rock Cafe at 201 Castro, Boutique 4 at 279 Castro, Maston Architect at 384 Castro, Tied House Cafe and Brewery at 954 Villa St, and the Jehning Lock Museum of Mountain View at 175 Castro.