Amelia Earhart Exhibit Extended Through Mid-November

Bill Meixner, Air Racing Historian, will be sharing the history of Amelia Earhart and other women pilots in the air races at the International Women's Air & Space Museum in Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday, September 16 at 7:00 pm.

The free lecture will take the audience through the history of the early air races in Cleveland and the women involved in them. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the 1929 National Women's Air Derby, coined "The Powder Puff Derby" by Will Rogers. The 9-day race began in Santa Monica, California and ended in Cleveland as part of the National Air Races. Twenty women entered the race, fourteen completed it and one died. That race was just the start of women's participation in the air races. Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes (who was from Cleveland) were the first women to win the Bendix, a race involving both men and women fliers, in 1936. 

The museum has also decided to extend Flight to Fame: The Life & Legacy of Amelia Earhart, the exhibit paying tribute to the famous aviatrix, through November 15. "We've had many visitors through the museum to see this exhibit," said Toni Mullee, Executive Director. "With the upcoming release of "Amelia", a biopic starring Hilary Swank, we think the interest in Earhart will remain high."  IWASM will be loaning a few items currently in the exhibit to the Museum of Flight in Seattle for an upcoming Earhart exhibit but will replace those things with other Earhart artifacts in their collection.

FMI: www.iwasm.org