Educational Facility Groundbreaking
at AMA Headquarters

   
Muncie-area school superintendents and representatives, Museum Director
Michael Smith (second from right), and Minnetrista President and CEO Betty
Brewer break ground to signal the start of construction.

    The National Model Aviation Museum broke ground Monday July 6, 2009, at 10 a.m. for the new Claude McCullough Educational Facility at the Academy of Model Aeronautics in Muncie, Indiana.
     The museum, which houses the world's largest collection of model aircraft, recently received a $152,000 bequest from Model Aviation Hall of Fame member Claude McCullough to enhance its educational and community outreach programs, according to a press release.
     "This new facility will be a terrific resource for us to better reach and teach school-age children with hands-on learning activities," Museum Director Michael Smith said in the release. "It will also allow us to host a variety of other events, including offering meeting space and tours for area community organizations."
     The new 2,120-square-foot addition will serve up to 100 people at a time for general instruction, building models, demonstrations, and learning about aviation.
     Donor Claude McCullough, 1922-2008, bequeathed more than three-quarters of the expected $200,000 cost for the facility. The museum is seeking additional donors to support the full cost. McCullough was a writer, photographer, designer, competitor, and experimenter in model aviation dating back to the 1930s. He was inducted into the Model Aviation Hall of Fame in 1991. MA   

—From The Star Press
Muncie, Indiana

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