Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine June/July 2021
Online Issue
COLUMBUS, OHIO – Officials from the non-profit Ohio Air & Space Hall of Fame and Museum (OAS) and The Ohio State University Center for Aviation Studies & Air Transportation and Aerospace Campus (Ohio State Aviation) jointly announced recently a Memorandum of Understanding outlining a partnership supporting aviation-based Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (AvSTEAM) education programming. The recently signed agreement includes opportunities to jointly develop and deliver curricula and activities, co-produce public events, support the OAS’s historic preservation efforts, and promote AvSTEAM education throughout the State of Ohio.
OAS is currently fundraising to transform the original Port Columbus Air Terminal into its home and a civic showpiece. In addition to a $550,000 grant from the State of Ohio and early gifts from donors, OAS recently received a generous gift from the Wright Brothers Foundation toward the renovation of the historic 13,000 square foot-plus Art Deco style terminal and tower, built in 1929 and on the National Register of Historic Places.
Public exhibits on the first floor will honor a diverse roster of air and space pioneers from Ohio, along with recognizing the state’s companies and organizations significant to the advancement of powered flight and manned space exploration. The OAS second floor will be devoted to youth STEAM education and workforce development programming.
The Wright Brothers, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Charles E. McGee, and Jerrie Mock are just a few of the OAS honorees whose inspirational legacies will be integrated into AvSTEAM curricula and activities in collaboration with Ohio State Aviation (https://aviation.osu.edu/).