Museum of Aviation tops last year’s attendance for Family Aviation Day

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — For the second year in a row, the Museum of Aviation held its Family Aviation Day event over the weekend. This year saw tremendous growth from last year’s, bringing families, aviation fans, and the community together to see Air Force history come to life. The showing topped last year in attendance and sales.

The museum estimates over 6,000 attended on Saturday. Fitting that many people into an event can be a challenge, and the event was executed differently this year.

Mainly, to accommodate for helicopter exhibits on the grounds, parking for the event was relocated to Anchor Glass on Booth Road. Attendees crossed the street into the museum or were able to take a shuttle bus from Anchor Glass directly to the front entrance on the museum.

It was a coordinated effort from Robins Air Force Base staff and Houston County Sheriff’s Office, something the museum was grateful for.

“We were so thankful for the Base’s support. They did the bus charter system and then we had the police departments that came out to help with traffic and pedestrian walkways. It was much easier that I thought it was going to be,” Lacey Meador, the Museum of Aviation’s marketing and public relations specialist, said.

This year multiple helicopters took-off and landed at the museum, and an F-15 flyover took place at noon.

“We had so many security forces personnel that showed up from Robins Air Force Base, that we were able to have two of the helicopters land while visitors were there. Everyone that was there got to watch that … another treat was at the end of the event, our visitors got to watch two of the helicopters take off, and then a big one in the side parking lot,” Meador said.

The takeoff and landings were a pleasant surprise at the event, and brought out the wonder in those who attended.

“I was really glad to see that spectators were able to see that up close because a lot of people who are really into aviation and children, they’re not able to watch aircraft land and take off every day,” Meador said. “So to be that up close and personal with it was a really cool thing.”

Speaking on the F-15 flyover, Meador reported that it went off without a hitch, with the aircraft making several passes overhead.

“We were so thankful for the fact that they were taking the time out of their day to do that for the museum, for the spectators. That was a really neat thing,” Meador said.

With offerings from other area events that day, as well as Mother Nature herself working to keep it cold, Meador was thrilled with the turnout and with the collaboration among volunteers and area businesses at the event.

“To have that amount of people show up and attend our event was really amazing. We had so many supporters and so many vendors that came out to display their own STEM related programs, or some had STEM related experiments that kids could participate in,” Meador said. “Between visitors and volunteers, it was amazing.”

Additionally, the gift shop, a major source of income for the museum’s ongoing projects, had a record setting day in sales on Family Aviation Day.

“That was really huge for us, because we are a free museum, so any given day we rely on generous donors,” Meador said.

Those proceeds go on to fund programs like the National STEM Academy, which Meador said serves thousands of students and teachers nationwide, as well as keeping the museum up and running. This is all in an effort to keep history alive in the community and bring it to life, in the same way it was brought to life on Family Aviation Day.

“That’s one of the biggest things we hear from our visitors is that they feel like, when they come, that history truly comes to life and these heroes’ stories, who fought for our freedoms, just come to life, too,” Meador said.

In addition to the stories shared from the museum, the museum had a chance to hear stories from the community, with Meador citing a story from a tourist whose family was involved with the Women’s Air Service Pilots from World War II, an exhibit that was shown at the Museum.

Meador encouraged the community to share their stories with the museum on their experiences as well.

“We’re always looking for those stories,” Meador said, “This is exactly why we’re here. We want to keep those legacies alive … For anyone out there who has a story, maybe a story specifically related to history, aviation, the United States Air Force, we would love to hear their stories.”

All things considered, given the success of the event, the museum plans on hosting another Family Aviation Day next year. In the meantime, up next for the museum is an event they call “Operation Homecoming,” where POW’s from the Vietnam War will share their experience and stories. That event will be free and open to the public, and take place on April 21 from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the museum’s Century of Flight Hangar.

To stay up to date on the museum’s upcoming events, follow them on Facebook at “Museum of Aviation Robins AFB, Warner Robins, GA.” If you’re interested in sharing your story, send a direct message through the Facebook page.

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