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Space Expo
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Aexeous
Aexeous March 14, 2010
Holiday Activities
December 2009
Behind the Scenes Tours and Santa Visit
Friday, November 27, 2009
Women Take Flight
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The New England Air Museum’s Birthday Bash
Celebrates the Museum’s 50th Anniversary
Sunday, October 4, 2009
October 9, 2009
Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk to Present at the New England Air Museum;
Navigator on the First Atomic Bombing Mission Against Japan
Antique Auto Show
Sunday, June 7, 2009
2009 KidsPort
CATAVIA KidsPort Premieres
KidsPort Boletin de prensa
NEAM Launches Program
NEAM Launches New Eductional Program
November 10, 2007
Kosciuszko Squadron exhibit now on display
Full Texts Below
Holiday Activities 2009
The New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Conn. has announced that it will run three days of special activities during the holiday break between Christmas and New Years Day.
The schedule is as follows: On Monday, December 28 there will be a LEGO contest for visitors ages 3-12 from 10 AM – 4 PM. Prizes will be awarded for each age category.
On Tuesday, December 29 there will be an Open Cockpit program with visitors being allowed to climb into the cockpits of at least 6 aircraft including a helicopter, an airliner, a jet fighter and a WWII aircraft.
Finally, on Wednesday, December 30 there will be an Aero Modeling Workshop. Children ages 8-14 can build and fly their own model. The program runs from 10 AM – 3 PM. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Adults pay regular admission; children pay $10 which includes admission to the Museum and the cost of the model.
Behind the Scenes Tours
On Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, the New England Air Museum will conduct a behind the scenes tours of its current restoration projects. This program will be included with the regular cost of admission to the Museum.
Visitors will have the opportunity to take a close-up look at many of the restoration projects and to talk with the volunteers who are involved with them. The program will include the B-29 Superfortress; the WWII Goodyear Blimp Car; the Douglas A-26 Invader; the Lockheed 10 Electra; the Regulus I Missile, several vintage engines and more. Visitors will also have the opportunity to take a tour of the Museum’s Research Library. The Museum will be open from 10 to 5 and the escorted tours will run from 10:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
Santa will be on hand to meet with children on board his special helicopter from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and he will have a gift for each child.
Women Take Flight
The New England Air Museum will host its sixth annual Women Take Flight event on Sunday, November 8, 2009. The program features extraordinary women who have pioneered new careers for women in aviation and aerospace. Our guests will share their experiences one-on-one with Museum visitors. Visitors will learn what it takes to join their ranks by hearing personal stories and seeing impersonators portray famous women aviators from bygone eras. Younger visitors will imagine the life they might live by hearing from Heroic Girlz, the journey four 11-year-old girls took to the girlhoods of some of America’s historical women heroines. Learn about the opportunities women now have working in the aviation and aerospace industries. This exciting, educational and inspirational program is presented in cooperation with the Ninety-Nines (International Organization of Women Pilots), CT Women in Aviation International, and the CT Girls Collaborative Project. Download a flyer or Download the Program
Amongst the twenty women expected are: Nina Anderson, corporate pilot and author of Flying Above the Glass Ceiling; Anne Baddour, experimental research pilot for MIT Lincoln Laboratory Flight Test Facility 1977-1997; Patricia Beckman, commander US Navy (retired) and flight test navigator for Boeing; Heather Howley, 26 year old helicopter pilot/instructor and owner and operator of a helicopter flight school in New York; Marilyn Pearson, FAA Operations Inspector and aerobatic pilot; Connie Tobias, Commercial Pilot and impersonator taking on the role of Harriet Quimby – First female licensed pilot; Major Samantha Weeks, Thunderbirds pilot (retired), and Air Force Fellow at the office of Deputy Secretary of Defense; and impersonators taking on such roles as Amelia Earhart, Ruth Bancroft Law and Bessie Coleman.
For
Group Pre-Registration
The New England Air Museum’s Birthday Bash
Celebrates the Museum’s 50th Anniversary
The New England Air Museum will celebrate its 50th Anniversary on October 4 with a Museum family event that will be open to the public from 10 AM – 5 PM.
There are numerous activities planned for the day. There will be a raffle for all visitors who will be given the chance to sit in the cockpits of two of the Museum’s most famous aircraft – the B-29 Superfortress of WWII and the giant Sikorsky VS-44 Transatlantic Flying Boat. Seventy visitors will be chosen at random during the event to enter each aircraft.
Every visitor will receive a souvenir token of the event. Families will be provided with scavenger hunt material that will guide them through aviation history as they will meet re-enactors playing the roles of famous people in aviation to make their visit come alive. Prizes will be given to all who complete the activities.
Meteorologists from Talcott Mountain Science Center will make 3 presentations "Recalling the Windsor Locks Tornado of 1979.
A food vendor will be on hand all day, and complimentary birthday cake will be served to everyone. 2009 Antique Auto Show
The New England Air Museum has announced it will hold it annual Antique Auto Show on Sunday, June 7.
Co-sponsored by the Connecticut Council of Car Clubs this will be one of the larger antique auto shows of the year. Visitors can expect a wide range of cars including early antiques such as Model T’s, show cars from the 30’s & 40’s, street rods, the dream cars of the 50’s and muscle cars of the 60’s and early 70’s.
Admission to the Auto Show is included with the regular admission cost to the Museum. A food vendor will be on site all day for the convenience of visitors. Aexeous
Meet the Amazing 12 Foot Tall Robotic Creature AEXEOUS
On Sunday, March 14, visitors to the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Conn. will be treated to a special show by an amazing interactive robot.
“AEXEOUS” is a one of a kind engineering marvel that is being used as a teaching tool to educate and excite children of all ages. He is 12’ tall and he moves and talks with visitors.
AEXEOUS was designed and built by the Silvacross Company of Rhode Island which started its business by producing highly intelligent robots for law enforcement and security applications.
There will be six interactive performances throughout the day. The Air Museum will be open from 10-5 and there is no additional charge over the regular admission fee for the performance.
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2009 KidsPort
WINDSOR LOCKS, CT, May 14, 2009 –The New England Air Museum and CATAVIA KIDS are pleased to announce the opening of a new hands-on children's exhibit. KidsPort, a joint project between CATAVIA KIDS, an aerospace edutainment company, and the Museum is designed for children of ages 5 to 12. It covers subjects ranging from piloting an airplane, air traffic control and packing and planning for a trip by airplane.
The exhibit is highly interactive. Every station sports touch-screen monitors with CATAVIA songs and software designed specifically for KidsPort. The exhibit is inspired by the characters and settings from CATAVIA's award-winning Black Box CD-ROM. All seven of the CATAVIA Kids and several of their friends host portions of the exhibit. About half of the stations are geared toward younger visitors, covering basic topics with no reading required. The rest give more detail on the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) of airplanes. To accommodate a broader audience, the programs are in both English and Spanish.
According to the Museum’s Director of Educational Programs, Caroline B. d’Otreppe,
“It is through collaboration that great things can be accomplished. This partnership between the New England Air Museum and CATAVIA Kids, Inc. has produced a unique opportunity for children to explore the operations of an airport while learning about how airplanes work and the history of aviation. The pooled efforts of many volunteers and multiple talents of artists, designers, musicians, and engineers have made KidsPort possible. Young visitors will be thrilled to find such a fun and engaging learning experience at the New England Air Museum.”
KidsPort matches colorful stations with engaging stories, exciting games, and musical video clips covering aerospace topics. The exhibit comprises a hangar, where visitors learn about airplane maintenance and jet engines; a terminal, covering trip preparation and travel with pets; a control tower, covering emergency landing procedures and the segments of flight; a tug truck, covering ramp procedures and ground service vehicles; and other locations covering aerodynamics, the phonetic alphabet, piloting, flight instruments, famous aviators, and the history of flight from hot air balloons to spacecraft.
Over 20 professionals and volunteers from NEAM contributed their time and talents to the development of the KidsPort exhibit. CATAVIA KIDS [www.cataviakids.com] is a division of CATAVIA LLC specializing in aerospace interactive education. CATAVIA LLC, founded in 1995, has offices in Old Tappan, New Jersey. Over 30 talented professionals including programmers, writers, voice actors, musicians, singers, and graphic designers from CATAVIA KIDS contributed to the creation of KidsPort.
Entrance to the KidsPort exhibit is included with the price of admission to the Museum which is open 7 days a week from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
To download the press release in Spanish, click below
Spanish Press Release
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2010 SPACE EXPO
The New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Conn. will hold its annual SPACE EXPO on Sunday, March 28, 2010. The theme of the event which is being held in collaboration with IGNITE is “Discover New England’s Aerospace Industry – Its Past Successes and Exciting New Challenges for the Future of Human Space Flight”.
More than 15 exhibitors from across New England will participate in the event including Hamilton Sundstrand, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Aldrich Astronomical Society, McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, and the CATO Rocketry Club.
Most of the activities will be hands-on. Visitors can try on a real space suit, pilot a space craft simulator, simulate the effect of weightlessness, handle rock and soil fragments from the Moon and Mars, have a Segway ride, launch model rockets and much more.
There will be special guest appearances and presentations including an astronaut in training from the Teacher in Space program and a presentation on the Hubble Space Telescope. An Apollo 13 exhibit and presentation will show how the crew was rescued thanks in great part to many of the engineers at Hamilton Standard (now Sundstrand) who had designed and built the life support system for the mission.
The Space Expo will run from 10 AM to 4:30 PM. For the convenience of visitors, a food vendor will be on hand all day.
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NEAM LAUNCHES NEW EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
The New England Air Museum is pleased to offer a new program for the benefit of its general admission visitors. The program, formally called the “Scientific Literacy Program” employs educators who are on hand every Saturday and Sunday to greet visitors and invite them to participate in a number of activities and demonstrations that are entertaining and educational.
According to the Museum’s Director, Michael P. Speciale, “It is our intent to make the Museum’s collection of historic aircraft and related artifacts come to life, especially for our younger visitors. The newly hired educators are doing a wonderful job in relating to our visitors and in helping them to discover the principles of aviation and aerospace in a fun and exciting way. Since the program started, the feedback from our visitors have been overwhelmingly positive.”
Much of the funding for this program has been made possible through a three year grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
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November 10, 2007
Kosciuszko Squadron exhibit now on display
WINDSOR LOCKS, CT – November 10, 2007 -- The new Kosciuszko Squadron Exhibit at the New England Air Museum will be officially opened to the public at 10 a.m. on Sunday, November 11. The exhibit will become a permanent part of the Museum's collection and will be available for viewing on a daily basis.
Central Connecticut State University‘s Stanislaus A. Blejwas Endowed Chair in Polish and Polish American Studies and the New England Air Museum developed the exhibit to honor the Kosciuszko Squadron, an aviation unit that helped to defend the newly re-constituted Polish nation from early Soviet attacks. As U.S. veterans of World War I volunteered to fly with the squadron, it was named in honor of an American Revolutionary War hero from Poland, Tadeusz Kosciuszko.
The New England Air Museum, located by Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., is one of the nation’s oldest and largest aviation museums. Its collection is extensive and includes artifacts and memorabilia from all periods of aviation beginning with the oldest surviving aircraft in the United States right up to the modern era. The Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, all year round.
Dr. M.B. Biskupski, holder of the Blejwas Endowed Chair at CCSU, noted: “The display is important to Polish-American relations for several reasons. First is that, after World War I, seasoned American combat pilots volunteered for Polish service out of a sense of debt to Poland as the homeland of Tadeusz Kosciuszko. During the American Revolution, Kosciuszko was a well-trained professional officer whose experience and talents as a military leader were of inestimable value in helping to mold the fledgling American armed force that ultimately defeated the professionally-trained British Army.
“Second, Kosciuszko has an interesting connection to Connecticut, the state in which such aviation pioneering companies as the Pratt & Whitney aircraft engine company and the Sikorsky Aircraft Company flourished. In 1776, General Kosciuszko was recruited in France by Benjamin Franklin and Connecticut native Silas Deane, a delegate to the American Continental Congress.
“Hence, there is a real sense of closing the circle of history by having this valiant Pole, General Tadeusz Kosciuszko, honored by members of American Polonia in the Nutmeg State. And, of course, giving long overdue recognition to the air unit that helped secure Polish independence following World War I and played a crucial role in defending Great Britain during World War II,” Biskupski said.
“A great community effort raised over $40,000 to enable the development of this exhibit to honor Poland’s famed Kosciuszko Squadron,” said Central Connecticut State University President Jack Miller.
“The Kosciuszko Squadron has become symbolic of Polish-American cooperation and that same spirit of Polish-American cooperation,” Miller said. “A community advisory committee chaired by Mary Mazurek Heslin – worked very hard with some 170 individuals, associations and organizations interested in preserving and honoring this part of Polish history and heritage. The committee also coordinated the donation of two original Polish Air Force uniforms and other memorabilia.”
Members of the Kosciuszko Squadron Commemorative Committee are: Prof. Biskupski, Dr. Peszke, Polish Air Force Veterans Association President S.K. Rasiej, P.E., Igor I. Sikorsky, Jr., Esq., and Harvey Hubbell, IV. Close liaison with the New England Air Museum is maintained by an Executive Committee of the Polish Studies Program chaired by Biskupski and including Peszke, CCSU Associate Vice President Nicholas Pettinico, Jr., and Chairman of the Advisory Board of CCSU’s Polish Studies Program Waldemar Kostrzewa. The committee’s honorary patron is Joseph E. Gore, Esq., President of the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York.
According to Museum Executive Director Michael P. Speciale: "The New England Air Museum is extremely pleased to play such an important role in telling the story of this little known but heroic chapter of aviation history. NEAM is one of the nation's outstanding aviation museums and, as such, it will prove to be a fitting home for the Kosciuszko exhibit."
Further information about the Kosciuszko Squadron memorial is available by calling 860-832-3010 or on-line at: www.ccsu.edu/Kosciuszko/.
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