The National Aviation Hall of Fame Receives Grant
The Berry Family Foundation awards the NAHF $30,000 to support Heritage Hall and Education Center
DAYTON, Ohio – January 11, 2021 – The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is honored to share that the renovation of their Heritage Hall and Education Center (HHEC) will be supported by a generous grant provided by The Berry Family Foundation.
NAHF President and CEO, Amy Spowart, said, “The support from the Berry Family will have a substantial impact on our work to help visitors of the HHEC learn about the inspirational lives of our Enshrinees and discover a passion for aviation and aerospace. We welcome over a quarter of a million visitors annually and improving the space encourages increased visitation and makes each interaction more memorable. We are beyond grateful to John Berry and The Foundation for this support.”
The grant provided by The Berry Family Foundation will be combined with a $250,000 grant from the State of Ohio for the re-design of the centerpiece of the HHEC, our 1300 sq. ft., immersive, flexible, multi-purpose theatre in which Discovering Flight with the National Aviation Hall of Fame program will be highlighted.
Within the reimagined theater, the NAHF plans to host an assortment of programs and special events that honor and share our nation’s aviation history. Theater-style seating will allow the space to be opened for projection mappings on the floor and walls. During the day, visitors will have access to short educational presentations that are designed with our content partners PBS Learning Media and interact with state-of-the-art digital programming. For evening special events, the NAHF plans to host family-oriented aviation movie nights, Enshrinee meet-and-greets, and scholarly lectures from aviation historians, authors, and experts.
The core beliefs of The Berry Family Foundation are focused on free enterprise, entrepreneurialism, supporting educational programs for youth, and fostering healthy communities. Vivian O’Connell, Director of Foundation Relations for The Berry Family Foundation, said, “We seek to support education programs that instill knowledge and confidence in the next generation, and the mission-driven work that the NAHF is striving for amplifying those values that we seek to encourage in students.”
Construction of the space is taking place now and will be complete in late Spring 2022.
