Today this dream is a reality. The International Women's Air and Space Museum, Inc., opened in March 1986, in Centerville, a suburb of Dayton, Ohio. Since that time we have grown and expanded and have now been welcomed by the City of Cleveland, Ohio, where you will find our new home at Burke Lakefront Airport. Our exhibits are in the lobby at Burke, as well as the west concourse, and are accessible seven days a week. Napoleon appointed a woman, Madame Blanchard, as his Chief Air Minister of Ballooning in 1804.
Women are still active participants in ballooning.
The Wright Brothers' sister, although not a pilot herself, encouraged and supported her brothers. A special exhibit on Katharine Wright is on display at the Museum. It is one of many exhibits which illustrate the historic achievements of women in aviation. Throughout the 1920s and 30s women were wing-walking, barnstorming, racing their way through aviation history. The most recognized woman pilot of this era, Amelia Earhart, is the focus of a planned exhibit at the Museum.