Aviation companies ante up for Exploration Place flight pavilion

Exploration Place officials announced Monday that they plan to overhaul the museum's flight pavilion with help from local aviation companies and others.

"After 11 years, it's time to refresh the gallery, but the topic — aviation — is still alive and fresh for the city of Wichita," said Jan Luth, president of the science center and children's museum.

"Exhibits are the anchor of a science center. ... And we're excited to make this a true community collaboration."

Luth said the museum has raised about $45,000 toward its goal of $60,000 for the design portion of the project. The total project will cost about $1 million, she said.

Community partners include Airbus, Spirit AeroSystems, Cessna, Bombardier-Learjet, Hawker Beechcraft, Boeing, the National Center for Aviation Research, the National Center for Aviation Training and Wichita State University.

The 5,000-square-foot flight and design pavilion is much the same as it was when Exploration Place opened more than 11 years ago. Its most striking element — a "Wind Wall" made up of 350,000 silver disks that shimmer and shift to demonstrate wind patterns — will remain, Luth said.

The towering wall was designed by Ned Kahn, an environmental artist and sculptor, on behalf of the Exploratorium in San Francisco. It was installed by Uwe Langmesser prior to Exploration Place's grand opening in April 2000.

"That's so gorgeous. It has to stay," Luth said after the news conference, which was held in the exhibit space.

Tom Gangel, chairman of the museum's board of directors, said the new gallery's theme will be "Design, Build, Fly." It could include engineering stations where visitors can test materials, a hands-on assembly station where they can put together planes, and flight simulators where they can try flying.

"Wichita is the air capital of the world," Gangel said. "What better place for youth to explore careers in aviation?"

John O'Leary, vice president of engineering for Airbus North America Engineering, said raising funds for a new museum exhibit may be challenging during an economic recession. But "we must look toward the future," he said.

About 20 percent of aviation engineers are nearing retirement, O'Leary said. By 2014, that number could rise to 40 percent, prompting what he called a "gray tsunami" for the industry.

"Who is going to replace those people, and where do we find them?" he said. "The answer starts in places just like this."

Luth, the museum president, said the planning and design phase of the project is expected to take six to nine months. Officials hope to announce detailed plans and "lots of pretty pictures" of the new aviation gallery about a year from now, she said.

This story was originally published September 19, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Aviation companies ante up for Exploration Place flight pavilion."