Aviation exhibit celebrates history, flight, and STEM learning

ArtEducation

May 18

Written By Staff

Photo courtesy of Grand Rapids Children’s Museum

Aim High: Soaring with the Tuskegee Airmen makes its debut at the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum on May 23 at 9 a.m. The exhibit was created by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh in partnership with Hosanna House.

This interactive exhibit invites audiences to explore multiple aspects of aviation, from the rich history of the Tuskegee Airmen to 21st-century STEM concepts. Inspired by the tools and tasks related to flying and aeronautics, the interactive experiences mix real artifacts with hands-on play. Visitors of all ages will be able to imagine themselves as aviators, inspired by the past and dreaming of the future.

In this exhibit, visitors explore opposites through a variety of hands-on activities, including cockpit flight trainer, things that fly praxinoscope, land the plane maze, imagination mirrors, and wearable wings. Children can build and wear a pair of airplane wings or a rocket ship and imagine they are flying through the sky.

The exhibit also features Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight, organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The exhibition was made possible through the support of the MetLife Foundation and chronicles the story of African Americans who, despite facing racial barriers, achieved major accomplishments in aviation.

Locally sponsored by the David and Carol Van Andel Family Foundation, the Steelcase Foundation, and Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Aim High: Soaring with the Tuskegee Airmen will remain on display at the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum through Sept. 5, 2026.

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