The Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum is an aviation museum located at Amelia Earhart Airport in Atchison, Kansas focused on Amelia Earhart.
  Location within Kansas  Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum (the United States) | |
| Location | Atchison, Kansas |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°34′07″N 95°10′42″W / 39.5685°N 95.1783°W |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Founder | Laidacker M. "Ladd" Seaberg |
| Website | www |
History
editBackground
editIn 1979, Grace McGuire purchased a Lockheed 10-E from the Wings and Wheels Museum in Orlando, Florida.[1][note 1] She intended to restore it to flight and use it to recreate Amelia Earhart's attempted circumnavigation. After trying and failing to interest Pratt & Whitney in supporting the effort and being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, McGuire was forced to abandon the effort.[3][4]
Establishment
editLaidacker M. "Ladd" Seaberg, an Atchison economic development promoter, and his wife Karen made contact with McGuire in the early 1990s. They eventually purchased the airplane from her and it was transported to Atchison in August 2016.[5][4] The following year, the museum announced plans for what would eventually become a 17,000 sq ft (1,600 m2) hangar.[6][7]
The building first opened to the public on 1 February 2023, before being officially dedicated 14 April.[8][9] The museum hired Mindi Love Pendergraft as a new executive director three months later.[10] In the meantime, the foundation had funded the creation and placement of a bronze statue of Amelia Earhart in the National Statuary Hall Collection.[11]
Exhibits
editThe museum is centered around the restored Muriel -- a Lockheed Model 10-E Electra (identical to the plane Earhart flew on her final flight). The museum also features 14 interactive exhibits, including a virtual reality experience.[12][13] A bronze statue of Amelia Earhart is also on display outside the museum.[14]
Collection
edit- Lockheed 10-E Electra Muriel[1]
Events
editAn annual Amelia Earhart festival is held at the airport.[15][16]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ The museum claims that Muriel is the last Model 10-E Electra.[1] However, another example of this aircraft is on display at the Museum of Flight.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Muriel". Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Lockheed Model 10-E Electra | The Museum of Flight". Museum of Flight. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
- ^ Yglesias, Linda (3 July 1998). "Airborne". Daily News Magazine. pp. 14–17. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ a b Siebenmark, Jerry (7 August 2016). "Plane Similar to Earhart's to Begin Journey to Kansas". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Seaberg, Ladd 1946-2017". News-Press Now. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Airport Museum Will Showcase Atchison's Muriel". St. Joseph News-Press. 13 June 2017. pp. B1, B3. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ Ljungblad, Tammy (14 August 2023). "Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum Takes Flight in Kansas". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ Trimble, Barbara (1 February 2023). "Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum Announces Soft Opening". Atchison Globe. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Grand Opening of the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum on April 14". Atchison Globe. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ Bonavia, Vanessa (20 July 2023). "Mindi Love Pendergraft Leads New Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum". Atchison Globe. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Amelia Earhart Statue Unveiled at U.S. Capitol; Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation Led Statue Project for State of Kansas". PR Web. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ Hrenchir, Tim (11 April 2023). "Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum in Atchison to Show Historic Plane and Interactive Exhibits". Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Tickets and Virtual Reality Flight". Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "The Statue". Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ Bruegger, Maddie; Clem, Marcus (21 July 2019). "Events Enshrine Legacy in the Sky". St. Joseph News-Press. pp. B1, B4. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ Lambdin Meyer, Diana (3 September 2023). "Earhart Museum Takes Flight". Star Tribune. p. E10. Retrieved 1 January 2024.