SEATTLE — The Museum of Flight draws upon its collection of Boeing aircraft, artifacts, images and documents to present The Boeing Company story during the year of its 2016 centennial. Opening Jan. 23, Boeing aircraft and artifacts will be highlighted throughout the museum campus, and most galleries will offer new exhibits focusing on the company.
The Centennial Hub
The Centennial Hub, located in the main lobby, will invite visitors to share their connection with the Boeing Company, strike a pose in front of a mock-up of the posh 1960s 747-100 “Tiger Lounge,” and listen to the oral history videos from some of Boeing’s most influential innovators.
Boeing History Timeline
The Boeing History Timeline exhibit in the Great Gallery highlights Boeing’s major milestones. Artifacts on display include the vintage, official employee clock from The Boeing Airplane Company’s main office in the first manufacturing plant.
The centerpiece of the exhibit is a Boeing P-26 Peashooter fighter aircraft on loan from the San Diego Air and Space Museum. It is a new, temporary exhibit.
The Red Barn
The museum’s largest artifact is the original Boeing airplane factory, Plant One, affectionately called The Red Barn. The Red Barn’s Boeing history exhibits will be enhanced for 2016, with new exhibits emphasizing the employees’ stories.
Centennial Weekends
Beginning Jan. 23, monthly Centennial Weekends will offer public lectures, fly-ins, films, live music and living history performers that focus on popular culture and the Seattle experience during each decade since Boeing’s founding in 1916.
Above and Beyond Exhibit
“Above and Beyond” is a new interactive science exhibit opening May 28 that explores transformative innovations in aerospace. The 5,000-square-foot touring exhibit will present an interactive demonstration of advances in aviation and aerospace, from the first powered flights to the newest innovations on Earth and in space.
After entering an immersive wraparound theater, visitors can venture into five galleries comprising dozens of interactive displays for all ages. Exhibit closes Sept. 12.
The New Aviation Pavilion
On June 25, the museum’s largest and most popular aircraft will be displayed together for the first time under a single roof when the three-acre, $23 million Aviation Pavilion opens to the public.
Nowhere else in the world will people be able to see the prototypes of Boeing’s 727, 737 and 747 airliners. Other significant Boeings on display in the exhibit will be the Model 247 from 1932-the first modern, all metal airliner; while at the other end of the spectrum is the first all-composite airliner, today’s 787 Dreamliner. Among other historic planes in the Aviation Pavilion will be the World War II-era B-17 and B-29, and a B-47 Stratojet from the 1950s. The Pavilion will also offer playgrounds for children, and a café.
Boeing Founders Day Weekend
A three-day extravaganza begins on The Boeing Company’s official birthday Friday, July 15. Sponsored by Boeing, the events include special exhibits and fly-ins, limited free admission and evening shows by leading personalities.
Source: http://generalaviationnews.comMuseum of Flight to celebrate Boeing’s centennial