Bloomington, IL — The Prairie Aviation Museum embraces all forms of aviation — from military to outer space and everything in between — in its recently refurbished space on Illinois 9 near the old airport.
“We didn’t want to be all military,” said Barbara Edwards, a museum board member and one of 25 volunteers who operate the museum. “We’re trying to focus on everything in aviation.”
While the museum was closed during the month of February, volunteers took the opportunity to freshen up the space with a new coat of light blue paint and the addition of wall display space, and to introduce some new ideas.
The lobby entrance now displays a plaque with the mission of the 31-year-old museum: “to educate, inspire and entertain through collecting, preserving and displaying aircraft, artifacts and memorabilia about aviation and space.”
The new displays clearly accomplish that mission.
One marks this year’s 45th anniversary of the Apollo 13 space mission. Besides pictures of the crew, a Life magazine that focused on the mission and other memorabilia, the display case includes a roll of duct tape.
Edwards said the Apollo 13 crew used duct tape to make something square become round. “They take it on all the missions, now,” she said. “Duct tape, don’t leave earth without it,” she joked.
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