Colorado Springs, CO — The National Museum of World War II Aviation has received $6 million in grants from a California foundation to build a permanent exhibit and education hall that will more than triple the size of the museum now operating in temporary quarters at the Colorado Springs Airport.
 
The museum received $1 million in late June to begin design and development work on a 60,000-square-foot building that will be called Aviation Hall. It also received $5 million grant that must be matched by other donations to fund construction, said Bill Klaers, co-chairman of the museum’s board.
 
Museum board members hope to raise the matching funds from other foundations and donors so construction can begin by April and be completed in time to allow Aviation Hall to open in early 2016, he said.
 
“This project will be a huge step forward for the (museum). It will create a world-class venue that will allow us to fully document the story of World War II aviation and honor those who contributed and sacrificed so much to win the war,” said Jim Stewart, the board’s other co-chairman.
 
Aviation Hall will expand the museum’s exhibit space from 14,000 to 40,000 square feet and include another 20,000 square feet of space for aircraft mechanic education programs operated by Broomfield-based Redstone College and could also include space for programs by Pikes Peak Community College, Challenger Learning Center, a nonprofit developing a physics curriculum and an after-school program offered through the Pikes Peak United Way. The museum’s current space would be converted to storage once Aviation Hall is open.
 
 
World War II Aviation museum gets $6 million to triple in size