After acquiring Muriel, the world’s last remaining Lockheed Electra 10-E aircraft, an identical model to the plane Amelia Earhart piloted on her final flight, Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation’s longtime vision for a first-of-its-kind museum took flight.

Earhart Foundation stakeholders turned to Dimensional Innovations and DI Build, an award-winning, Kansas-based experiential design, build and technology firm, to create a highly engaging museum experience for people of all ages.

© Dimensional Innovations

DI and content partners Turnkey Education and Museum EXP created Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum, a tech-focused, educational and inspirational exhibit located inside Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport in Atchison, Kansas.  AEHM opened to the public in 2023.

Earhart was trying to become the first woman to successfully complete a circumnavigational flight of the globe when she disappeared on July 2, 1937. She was last seen in Papua New Guinea and disappeared near Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean. She was declared dead in absentia on Jan. 5, 1939.

Inside the museum gallery, visitors can flip through a digital scrapbook, listen to accounts of Amelia’s relatives using an antique telephone, or read what some of her most famous friends had to say about the aviation pioneer.

© Dimensional Innovations

A comprehensive timeline wall and 3-D holograms illustrate the evolution and mechanical innovation of flight, all in comparison to Amelia’s life. Visitors can explore the ins and outs of two aircraft engines. When participants touch one of the mounted engine pieces, an animated illustration will appear on the screen above to showcase how it functions.

Visitors can crouch into the pilot’s seat inside an imitation Muriel cockpit equipped with flight controls to get a good sense of Amelia’s cramped flying quarters. Outside the flight deck is a real-life Garmin G1000 avionics suite and touchscreen dashboard where visitors can see the advancements since Amelia’s era.

The hangar’s mezzanine area puts visitors among the stars for further exploration through digital, visual and hands-on interactives. Amelia’s Guiding Lights shows how Amelia’s navigator, Fred Noonan, used constellations and celestial cues to navigate flight paths.

© Dimensional Innovations

“Partnering with Dimensional Innovations on this state-of-the-art history and stem museum, we’ll be able to help give a glimpse into her life in a way never before experienced,” said Karen Seaberg, founder and president, AEHM.

The hangar’s mezzanine explores the age-old question: What happened to Amelia on that fateful flight? Theories of her mysterious disappearance line the wall, leaving visitors to vote in real time on which theory they believe using the touchscreen monitor.

Visitors can put their flying skills to the test in a virtual reality flight experience. Each station is equipped with two steering yokes and VR headsets. Players embark on a digital yet lifelike flight path of Amelia’s, piloting to either land successfully in Paris, France, or reroute to Derry, Ireland.

This video helps prepare adults and children for their visit to Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum by illustrating how visitors are able to interact with the space.

Admission for adults is $15, seniors (60+) and military is $12, children (4–12) is $8, and children 3 and under are free. The museum is open Wednesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday, 12–5 p.m.