National Aviation Hall of Fame announces Dayton History to operate its public Learning Center
Collaboration by two non-profits hailed as way to enhance
visitor experience, boost attendance at interactive exhibit hall
(Dayton, Ohio – December 8, 2014) – Today the Congressionally-chartered non-profit National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) publicly announced a new partnership that turns the daily operations of the NAHF Learning Center over to Dayton History, effective January 1, 2015. Located at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (NMUSAF), the 14,500-square-foot NAHF Learning Center exhibit hall features displays, flight simulators, and interactive exhibits that honor its 225 enshrinees. The agreement includes Dayton History’s integration of the NAHF volunteers into its volunteer association, providing a full-time Education Department staff member, and enhancing the historical interpretation and education programming within the center. The NAHF’s various annual award and outreach activities, including its enshrinement selection process and ceremonies, public events at the Reno Air Races, Oshkosh, and the NBAA convention, and other educational programs, will remain under the direction of the Hall of Fame’s board of trustees.
NAHF Chairman of the Board, William R. Harris, said, “This stellar example of creative collaboration between two vibrant non-profits is a multiple win, raising the bar for the Hall of Fame, Dayton History, the aviation legends we honor, and our entire community.” Harris pointed out that with free admission and parking, the NAHF benefits from being located at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, which attracts over one million visitors a year.
“We are delighted to build on that with Dayton History’s help, and to further expand the Hall of Fame’s ability to inspire future leaders.”
Congressman Mike Turner (R-Dayton) was among officials announcing the partnership at a morning press event in the Learning Center. “I was honored to join my good friend, Zoe Dell Nutter, to help facilitate this beneficial partnership between Dayton History and the NAHF,” said Turner, adding, “Dayton is the birthplace of aviation and therefore the rightful place for the National Aviation Hall of Fame. This new collaboration will better align the aviation assets in our region and enable more visitors to be exposed to the exhibits and educational programming located at the Learning Center.”
Dayton History is Montgomery County’s official historical organization. The organization boasts multiple campuses in the greater Dayton, Ohio area: Carillon Historical Park, Hawthorn Hill, the Paul Laurence Dunbar House Historic Site, the Patterson Homestead, the Old Court House, Memorial Hall and the Archive Center. Dayton History brings the past to life to understand the present and inspire the future by collecting, preserving, interpreting, presenting, and promoting the region’s past. For more information, visit www.daytonhistory.org
The National Aviation Hall of Fame is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in Dayton in 1962 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1964. Since 1962, the National Aviation Hall of Fame has inducted over 200 of the nation’s premier air and space pioneers, including the Wrights, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong. The goals of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, as reflected in its mission statement (“Honoring Aerospace Legends to Inspire Future Leaders”), are to preserve and memorialize the inspirational legacies of its enshrinees and use their accomplishments as the catalyst for developing new leaders in aerospace and the community at large. For more information, visit www.nationalaviation.org.
# # #
Media Contact:
Ron Kaplan
Enshrinement Director
TEL: (937) 256-0944 x16
CEL: (937) 212-8847
[email protected]
