Dedication Ceremony To Be Held October 8 At IWSM

The International Women's Air & Space Museum (IWASM) will officially open the Joan L. Hrubec Aviation Education Center with a special dedication on Friday, October 8, 2010 from 1800 - 2000. The center is a dedicated space that will house interactive exhibits designed to engage children in aviation education.  The Aviation Career Corner, which focuses on careers in commercial aviation, provides costumes and props for children to imagine themselves as pilots, flight attendants and air traffic controllers. The Kitty Hawk Time Machine allows visitors to step back in time and fly a Wright Glider simulator and dress up in period costume. The Aviation TouchWall will provide kids with the opportunity to see and touch airplane parts. A computer station and children's library will offer museum guests plenty to do in the center. "The education center will allow us to accommodate more children and provide more hands-on and interactive programming", said Michelle Epps, the museum's Education Manager.

The museum will begin rolling out regularly-scheduled programming in the center beginning in October. Families will be able to visit the Education Center on Saturdays, during regular museum hours, 1000 - 1600, and school groups can schedule visits and programs during the week by contacting the museum office.

The Aviation Education Center has been made possible because of the generous support of Burke Lakefront Airport, home of IWASM, which has provided space for the center and support from the airport management and staff. "The new Aviation Education Center is a great new addition to the museum's existing program at Burke Lakefront Airport," said Cleveland Airport System Director Ricky Smith.  "Aviation enthusiasts -- of all ages -- will now have the opportunity to experience aviation in a new and interactive way."

The Aviation Education Center is named for long-time museum trustee, Joan Hrubec, a lifelong resident of Cleveland, who passed away in 2007.  Hrubec was a pilot and air racer who became a trustee of the museum in 1976, when it was first incorporated. She was the museum's director from 1998 to 2002.

FMI; www.iwasm.org