99s Museum

As the saying goes, "Anything you can do I can do better", seems to have been proven by women time and time again in just about every field, even in Aviation. The 99's Museum's message is about just that; Women in Aviation. The most notable of the these pilots is Amelia Earhart, the female pilot who went missing somewhere over the pacific on her world tour. But have you heard of other female pilots, such as Harriet Quimby, who died the same day the Titanic Sank? Or what about Lousie Thaden, who flew in and won several of the earliest air derby races. Then there are the WASPs, also known as the Womens Air Service Pilots, who helped the allied effort in WWII.  Indeed, it would seem that women are just as capable as men when it comes to the field of aviation. Now, concerning the 99's Museum, it is a rather small museum, so much so that the entire tour can take about 30 minutes.  However, it excels as an educational tour. The tour starts out with the earliest days of aviation, where the only flying was in air races, known as air derbies, and exhibition demonstrations, known as aviation meets. At the time, however, the aviation world was primarily known as a mans world.  It was hard for women to get any respect as an aviator let alone obtain a pilots license. A large majority of the exhibit has to do with the most famous female aviator, Amelia Earhart. It details her start as an aviator and ultimately leads to her end as one too.

The next small area to the exhibit is the WASP exhibit. The WASPs, or Womens Air Service Pilots, played a vital role in the victories of WWII. So much so that several were awarded high honors such as the distinguished flying cross and the silver star. However, such service always comes with a price. 38 WASPs lost their lives due to training accidents and for the longest time, the nation failed to recognize them as the heroines they were until 1977. After the war, the female aviators, not wanting to give up the joy of flying, pursued other avenues of aviation. One of these avenues was commercial aviation.

 This part of the 99s Museum features stories and profiles of several first female airline pilots. this little area is probably smaller than all the other areas. However, having gained respect becoming pilots in the early years of aviation, fighting off the Germans and Japanese in WWII, and becoming airline pilots, what was there left to accomplish for women aviators? Perhaps the New Frontier? Yes after all that they had been through, women finally achieved the highest accomplishment by being launched in outer space.

Now ask yourself this question. Who was the first woman in space? If you said Sally Ride, you would be wrong. In fact, the very first woman in space was Russian Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. Sally Ride was actually the first American Female in space. Last but not least in the museum is the wall of first, as in the first women in various countries to become aviators.

Educational: 4
Entertainment: 2
Price:3
Cafe: N/A
Giftshop: 3
Overall: 3

Additional Information

Address
4300 Amelia Earhart Lane  Oklahoma City, OK

Hours
Mon-Fri 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Prices
Adults: $5
Students (K-12): $3
Seniors (60+): $4
Military: $4

For More Information visit: http://www.museumofwomenpilots.com/