HISTORY has awarded the Florida Air Museum on the Sun ‘n Fun campus at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport a $10,000 Save Our History grant.
The museum will partner with the Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA) of Kathleen High School, which is on the Sun ‘n Fun campus, to develop a new museum exhibit featuring “Florida’s Flying Boats — the First Airline Passenger Service.” The project will document the world’s first airline, the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, and the first airline passenger flight across Tampa Bay, Jan. 1, 1914, by renowned test pilot Tony Jannus in a Benoist Model 14 flying boat biplane.
Incorporated within the school’s American History curriculum, the project will require students build of a ¼ scale replica of the Benoist flying boat, plus participate in publicizing and video graphing the project. The new exhibit is scheduled to be showcased in a special free museum day reception at the Florida Air Museum in May 2010.
The Florida Air Museum is one of 11 organizations nationwide that received Save Our History community preservation grants. These grants fund preservation projects designed to bring communities together, actively engage children in the preservation of their local history and communicate the importance of saving local history for future generations.
In addition to this project, HISTORY is also awarding Save Our History grants to organizations in Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
“HISTORY receives stacks of applications for Save Our History grants,” said Dr. Libby O’Connell, SVP, Corporate Outreach and Chief Historian, HISTORY. “The Florida Air Museum demonstrated the creativity and commitment to preservation and education that we believe is fundamental to giving our past a bright future.”
Historic organizations interested in receiving funding for preservation projects developed with local schools or youth groups are encouraged to apply for a 2010/2011 Save Our History Grant. Applications will be available online in January 2010.
For more information: FloridaAirMuseum.org
