2014 ANNUAL REPORT 2014 Association Officers Friends of the Armstrong Air and Space Museum Association: Thomas Finkelmeier Jr. President The year featured setbacks and successes. Record cold temperatures and Sean Stroh curtailed field trips from public schools early in the year, but visitors flocked 1st Vice President th in during July to celebrate the 45 anniversary and attendance at space Greg Myers camp doubled that of any previous incarnation. During the summer, Sean 2nd Vice President Stroh, who had served as Vice President and unofficially as the museum’s Donna Grube technical support left the Neil Armstrong Airport and his position on the Secretary Board of Trustees. James Heinrich Treasurer The Museum added two components intended to engage young visitors Board of Trustees (4 & under) and new exhibit elements refreshed the lunar landing simulator and Apollo exhibit. Engineering students at Ohio Northern University Don Arnett Matt Bailey continued work on its latest contribution to the museum’s exploration Rachel Barber equipment. Committed to the initiative that began in 2013, the Museum Thomas Finkelmeier Jr. continues to review and improve the its exhibits in an effort to ensure its Dan Graf offerings are up-to-date and accurate. Donna Grube Don Harrod A highlight for the year was the Mutual Concerns of Air and Space Museums James Heinrich conference in Washington DC. In addition to sessions on programs, Josh Hines Joseph Lenhart education, and installations, museum educator Emily Richard and I were also Rodney Metz able to experience the National Air and Space Museum including X-1, Greg Myers Friendship 7, and Apollo 11. 2014 also saw the museum’s first billboard and Kraig Noble the introduction of QuickBooks accounting. Don Regula Al Solomon In short, it was a tremendous year of change, new initiatives, and grand Sean Stroh John Zwez celebrations. Ex Officio Trustees Dr. Thomas Crouch Thank you for your support. Mary Ann Olding Tony Sculimbrene Executive Director Christopher Burton Christopher Burton Executive Director Museum Educator Emily Richard 2 Sharing the Story Storytelling begins with the museum’s exhibits. The staff’s efforts have been two-fold: to maintain the existing exhibits and to add or improve exhibits as possible. In 2014, we repainted the outdoor replica capsules (above) and corrected mistakes in the entry hallway. We also added a preschool interactive table (right) and toddler manipulative (above right). The museum also replaced several damaged images and reconnected loose objects. Together, the museum looks better kept and contains more updated information. The museum offered two specialty tours in the spring, giving visitors a glimpse of the myth of sci-fi movies and the secret history of space travel. Occasionally, the museum has a rare opportunity to reach beyond the typical audience. In July, rock band Blues Traveler (right) visited the museum for a photo shoot in support of their upcoming album, Blow Up the Moon. They apparently thought the Armstrong Air & Space Museum was the best venue for their unique album art. The new apparel wall (right) combines into one area what was previously located throughout the store. Museum Store Completely renovated the sales floor and backstock area in 2014 Relocated model rockets, apparel, and space food to the front Features over 2,000 products No admission required to shop the store Store sales fund greater than 35% of the museum budget 3 2014 Space Camp Another Great Year for Educational Programs 2014 proved to be another exciting and prosperous year for the Education Department. The Department saw an increase in the number of school groups and students versus 2013. The number of library programs over the summer increased by 28, and the number of participants in these programs more than tripled! When it comes to Space Camp 2014, 52 children in grades 2nd-7th participated. Last year, that number was 23. Some highlights from 2014: January brought the start of the Armstrong Air & Space Museum outreach program at Hardin-Houston Schools. Educators worked with gifted 3rd graders to cover topics such as inhabiting another planet, building lunar rovers, landing on Mars, building rockets and more. The program ended in March with students visiting the Museum to participate in a tour and more activities. The program culminated with the students launching their rockets on the Museum grounds. Another enrichment program started in March with 3rd grade gifted students at Botkins Schools. Students worked on projects similar to the ones at Hardin-Houston. This group’s program culminated in May again with the launch of the model rockets they built. At the 2014 Ohio Museums Association annual conference, the Armstrong Air & Space Museum was awarded with Best Educator Emily Richard and other Education Outreach for the Shelby County enrichment program award winners at the Ohio Museums detailed above. Association awards banquet in Athens. March, April and May started to pick up with more school groups booking tours with the Museum (see page 6). Fun fact: 48% of school group tours are booked in April and May. June and July kept the Education Department busy with several library programs (libraries listed on opposite page). The theme for summer reading was “Fizz, Boom, Read”. The children Educator Emily Richard participated in science themed activities such as: model rocket and space camper launches, Oreo moon phases, building lunar rovers, making launch a model rocket constellation finders and more! 4 July brought the annual Summer Moon Festival. The Education Department participates every year by having several activities available, under a tent, for children of all ages. Some highlights this year were clothespin airplanes, paper copters, LEGO creations, bubble factory, and the inflatable planetarium. August was our annual Space Camp with a record 52 campers! Campers followed the theme of astronaut training, participating in astronaut physical training, obstacle course, model airplane Space Campers return from flying at Neil Armstrong Airport. building, hovercraft building, presentation from an RC airplane enthusiast, and getting to fly in an airplane at the Neil Armstrong Airport. September and October saw several group tours but the Education Department stayed busy with enrichment programs at Jackson Center Schools and Indian Lake Schools. Educators worked with gifted 4th graders are both schools. The Jackson Center program lasted 10 weeks and Indian Lake immediately re-upped for two consecutive semi-weekly programs. October allowed the Museum to reach out to the community; General Aluminum in Wapakoneta invited the museum to its first employee picnic. Over 400 people attended! Emily Richard drops a student-built device intended to protect an egg cargo. 2014 Library Programs St. Marys Library Versailles Library Cridersville Library North Lewisburg Library Waynesfield Library Champaign County Library New Bremen Library Mt. Victory Library FJ Stallo Library Alger Library New Knoxville Library Ft Recovery Library New Carlisle Library Delphos Public Library Upper Sandusky Library Beavercreek Library Bluffton Library Hicksville Library Wapakoneta Library Defiance Library Coldwater Library Sherwood Library North Baltimore Library Fairborn Library A touring class from Tennessee Ridgeway Library Space Campers on tour 5 What Visitors Are Saying… Museum Statistics Every individual visitor and tour group leader has the January 1 - December 31, 2014 opportunity and is encouraged to provide written and verbal Attendance: 29,265 feedback on any aspect of the museum experience. Visitors States in Attendance: 50 completed 24 surveys in 2014. Respondents evaluated Nations in Attendance: 54+ individual elements of the experience: site staff, cleanliness, exhibits, accommodations, and museum store. Each rating Adult Tours: 18 was given numeric values: excellent 3, good 2, average 1, and Senior Tour Members: 178 poor 0 and averaged. Adult Tour Members: 272 3 School Groups: 73 Students: 2,181 2.5 Scout Troops 9 2 Scouts: 137 Interactive Programs: 39 1.5 IP Participants: 1,411 1 Outreach Programs: 24 Outreach participants: 871 0.5 Library programs: 34 0 Library participants: 896 Staff Museum Store Overall experience Exhibits Cleanliness Accommodations Admission Income: $155,333 Sales Income: $131,704 Attendance Website visits: 52,414 Attendance decreased slightly for the second straight year (3 .5%) Unique visitors: 42,046 but was still far higher than attendance in 2011 (115%). Total pageviews: 196,289 Five organizations rented the museum or classroom for afterhours New Facebook likes: 1057 net activities and family gatherings. Additionally, General Aluminum Mfg. contracted with the education department to entertain its Membership: 79 staff and guests during its first employee picnic, the museum Volunteer hours: 969.25 hosted the local public library for story time in April, and local NBC Top volunteer: Burt Peterson affiliate WLIO used the museum for its evening news broadcast on May 1. Nations added to the map in 2014 include Angola, Argentina, Cameroon, Iran, Maldives, and Peru. Map of Visitors Since May 27, 2010, visitors have marked one of two maps in the museum to indicate their birthplace or residency. The red areas represent nations from where visitors have come. 6 Capital Campaign: A Dream Realized Community members pledged over $130,000 toward the Association’s first fundraising campaign. In 2012, the first-phase Interstate sign was completed, with access doors, electrical