The Tulsa Air and Space Museum (TASM) is an ''aerospace museum'' in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, United States. It is located in the northwest corner of the

Tulsa International Airport Tulsa International Airport is a civil-military airport five miles (8 km) northeast of downtown Tulsa, in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named Tulsa Municipal Airport when the city acquired it in 1929;school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

visits, summer camps, and Scout groups.

History

The museum announced that it had a $300,000 financial shortfall in 2022 and was at risk of closure as a result.

Exhibits

In Hangar One, the museum's exhibits present a chronological history of aviation in

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. The Early Birds exhibit explains the beginnings of aviation in Tulsa, with a special focus on

aviation pioneer Duncan A. McIntyre. The next exhibit is highlighted by a scale replica of Tulsa's original art deco airport terminal, originally designed by Leon B. Senter. The terminal's original cast iron door frames, cornerstone, terra cotta decoration and ornate art deco sconces are presented inside the exhibit, along with historic documents and photographs. The

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

survivors' exhibit presents an interactive touch-screen that allows visitors to listen to Oklahoma survivors of the

attacks share their experiences of that fateful day. The

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

exhibit also highlights Tulsa's contributions to the war, with presentations on the Spartan Aircraft Company, the Spartan College of Aviation and Technology and the Douglas Bomber Plant. A commercial aviation exhibit presents historic uniforms, documents, and photos from

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

, Trans World Airlines and other commercial carriers.

gets special attention due to the presence in Tulsa of the largest private aircraft maintenance base in the world, owned and operated by American. The space exhibit presents information on Tulsa's participation in the manned and unmanned space programs, beginning with the first Peaceful Uses of Space Conference held in Tulsa on May 26, 1961. Oklahoma astronauts are honored, while visitors have the opportunity to operate a mockup of the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...

's robotic arm. Present in Hangar One are several historic aircraft. Worthy of mention is one of the only surviving

Spartan C-2 The Spartan C2 is a light aircraft produced in the United States in the early 1930s as a low-cost sport machine that would sell during the Great Depression. Design and development The C2 is a conventional, low-wing monoplane design with two seat ...

aircraft, one of two surviving Rockwell Ranger 2000's, a Spartan NP-1 and an

F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the ...

. A small exhibition is dedicated to the story of the training of 42 technical staff members of the young

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...

, who in 1949 came to the Spartan College of Aviation and Technology in Tulsa, for a 9-month training. They were "adopted" while they were there by families of the Tulsa Jewish community. Upon completion of their training, they returned to Israel as certified aircraft mechanics. The museum's collections focus primarily on Tulsa's aviation history.

Planetarium

The James E. Bertelsmeyer Planetarium opened at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum in May 2006. The planetarium uses 360-degree high definition full dome technology, and features a 50 ft diameter dome. The planetarium offers full-dome digital shows as well as traditional star shows, and hosts community events.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium Aerospace museums in Oklahoma Museums in Tulsa, Oklahoma Planetaria in the United States Museums established in 1998 1998 establishments in Oklahoma

History

Exhibits

Planetarium

See also

References

External links