EAA Air Venture Museum - Attractions

Attractions

The AirVenture Museum has recently added several new attractions to the museum. One of the new additions opening in the summer of 2007 is the Pioneer Airport. The new airport will "take tourists back to what flying was in the earliest days of planes and aircraft." A second addition that will be open to the public will be located in the Innovations Gallery, which contains information about future aircraft. Tourists can occasionally attend talks by pilots of specific types of planes.

As for in the museum itself, the KidVenture Gallery, and SpaceShipOne have been added. The KidVenture Gallery is a hands-on exhibit specifically targeted towards children. There are several different types of simulations and virtual activities, like the "Chopper Challenge" and virtual hang gliding. This program was put together by members of the EAA, after noticing the popularity of these virtual activities during the summer EAA Adventure fly-in program. The SpaceShipOne, another new exhibit featured in the Innovations Gallery, displays the SpaceShipOne aircraft made by Burt Rutan. SpaceShipOne is an aircraft created with the purpose of flying to space and back. The creation of this aircraft was fueled by a contest with the winners receiving $10 million. Today at the EAA AirVenture museum an exact replica of the SpaceShipOne is displayed. Every hour a simulation including sound and video effects is played giving the viewers an idea of what is it like to fly in the SpaceShipOne. At one point during the simulation the aircraft completely changes its shape. This was a unique feature, which is on the original SpaceShipOne, added so that during re-entry into the atmosphere the ship keeps from overheating.