Aim High: Soaring with the Tuskegee Airmen
Take play to new heights with this brand-new exhibit placing children in the pilot’s seat this fall! Step into this new exhibit at Chicago Children’s Museum that honors the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen while exploring STEAM concepts through hands-on play and imagination. This fall, imagine yourself in the role of aviator, inspired by the past and dreaming of the future.
This exhibit includes hands-on activities inspired by the real tools and tasks of aeronautics:
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Get an up-close view of the inside of a life-sized Cock Pit Flight Trainer. Guide the simulated plane through takeoff and landing from the vantage point of the captain’s seat to safely fly your passengers—seated in a row of actual airplane seats—to their destination.
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Make still images move with one of the earliest forms of animation. Switch out the cards, give the machine a spin, and keep your eye on the mirrors to see things that fly come to life.
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Can you stay calm under pressure while you direct air traffic? This tilting tabletop maze is inspired by air traffic control and requires all your focus to get a rolling ball from one end of the landing strip to the other.
Featuring Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight
Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight chronicles the story of African Americans who, despite facing racial barriers, attained great achievements in aviation history. From brave pioneers of the 1910s to today’s astronauts, this exhibit celebrates the fact that flying is not limited by race.
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83 years ago, in July of 1941, Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., a handful of cadets, and a student officer began training as the first Black pilot candidates for the U.S. Army at Tuskegee Institute. In November 1941, the student officer and cadets began basic and advanced training at Tuskegee Army Air Field.
Before 1939, Black Americans were allowed in the military but were not permitted to train as pilots. In 1939, the Civilian Pilot Training (CPT) Program was created. This federally funded, segregated program allowed Black Americans to train as pilots as the U.S. prepared for the looming World War II.
Despite the creation of the CPT Program, it wasn’t until 1941 that a Black squadron (the 99th Pursuit Squadron) was finally approved and activated, after years of petitioning the U.S. military for inclusive policies and desegregation. This was the first step towards initiating the Tuskegee Airmen Experiment, an effort that the U.S. government expected to fail.
As a part of the Tuskegee Airmen Experiment, Black Americans were permitted to enlist in the military as combat pilots and support personnel. Once enlisted, they served and trained in Tuskegee, Alabama. Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., four cadets, and a student officer were the first to pass flight training and graduate from Tuskegee Army Air Field in 1942.
They were the nation’s first Black American military pilots and would come to be known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
During World War II, the Tuskegee Airmen flew more than 15,000 individual missions, shot down 112 enemy airplanes, and played a vital role in ending segregation in the U.S. military.
Aim High: Soaring with the Tuskegee Airmen was created by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh in partnership with Hosanna House, Inc.
Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. The exhibition was made possible by the generous support of Metlife Foundation.
Aim High is sponsored locally in part by a generous gift from the Field Foundation of Illinois.
