TASM Offers Educational Enjoyment
FLYING ARTIFACT: On April 12, Tulsa Air and Space Museum became the new home of the American Airlines, MD-80. The plane will sit between the museum and planetarium and be open for tours.
Courtesy TASM
Whether it’s a tour through a World War II bomber or a leisurely afternoon gazing at the stars in its planetarium, Tulsa Air and Space Museum (), 3624 N. 74th East Ave., can provide summer fun for kids with all interests.
Coming June 8 and 9, the skies over Tulsa will be filled with the four- engine roar of the World War II Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Memphis Bell. The Liberty Foundation’s 2013 Salute to Veterans tour will be arriving at with the famous Boeing B-17 Memphis Belle, celebrating the 70th anniversary of its historic last mission and first Tulsa visit.
While the actual Memphis Belle resides in the Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, this Memphis Belle starred in the 1990 movie of the same name. It was built toward the end of the war and never saw any combat. It is painted in the colors and nose art of the original historic Memphis Belle B-17 which flew with the 91st bomb group of the mighty 8th Air Force and was the first B-17 Flying Fortress to complete 25 missions during World War II.
Ride flights on the bomber will take place between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. both days. From 2:30 to 5:00 p.m., the Memphis Belle will be open up for walk-through tours.
TASM’s planetarium, which opened in 2006, makes Tulsa only the third planetarium in the world to have advanced digital technology, bringing full-dome educational experiences to Tulsa for the first time. Since its initial opening, over 150,000 people have experienced one of the many shows offered on a daily basis.
In 2011, the planetarium unveiled a new projection system with state of the art SciDome HD technology. The new system projects three million pixels onto the planetarium’s dome, a 60 percent increase over the present system. The software has enabled the planetarium to continue its programming impact into the local classroom.
For many students, this is their first encounter with the vastness of our universe, the challenges of space travel, and the science of astronomy. As the only public planetarium in the area, the museum and planetarium’s facility plays a vital role in discovery-based learning for thousands of students.
is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 1-5 p.m.
The museum chronicles the Tulsa’s aerospace heritage, including early Tulsa aviators, the rise of the Tulsa Municipal Airport, the work done at Douglas Tulsa, American Airlines, North American, Rockwell, McDonnell Douglas and Boeing. The museum is not only the repository for its own artifact and aircraft collection garnered over the last 15 years but is also the custodian of the Tulsa Airport Authority collection that includes the Charles W. Short collection.
Updated 06-12-2013
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