Project Name: Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum
Project Type: New Construction
Location: Wapakoneta, Ohio
Completion Date: 1972
The Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum was constructed in 1971 to honor the Wapakoneta astronaut who became mankind's first moon walker during the Apollo 11 space mission in 1969. The Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum takes visitors on a journey through aviation and aerospace history.
Opened in 1972, the museum consists of earth mounds around the frame of the museum building. The building is topped by a dome, 56 feet in diameter, which is the dominant feature of the unique structure. Designed to resemble a futuristic moon base, the building is spectacular by night with its white dome rising into the sky and a path of blue airport taxi-lights leading to the entrance.
The huge earthen structure houses exhibits on Ohio's role in air and space history and America's conquest of space. The Infinity Room is a 16 foot cubic room entirely lined with mirrors to simulate the vastness of space, infinity, and the lunar surface. Standing in a void of shimmering light, visitors are taken to the edge of nothingness. Inside the dome is the Astro-theater, where visitors sit and relax as the sights and sounds of space unfold in multimedia presentations against a starry background.
This project was administered by The Ohio Historical Society.