Warner Robins: Museum of Aviation display's city's military heritage, pride
WARNER ROBINS, Ga. -- The Museum of Aviation is a one of Warner Robins' treasures.
Located next to Robins Air Force Base, the museum honors veterans and Air Force heritage.
The museum opened in 1984 with 20 aircrafts on display. Since then, it has only continued to grow. Now, it attracts visitors from all over the world, according to Collections Manager Bill Paul.
"Our first year we had 30,000 visitors and now we've grown to we've got four exhibit buildings, nearly 100 aircraft and average nearly a half a million visitors a year," Paul said.
Visitors can get an up-close look at planes from World War II and the Vietnam War. Also included at the museum is are displays dedicated to a century of flight, the Thunderbirds and collections making it into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.
Curator Mike Roland said each plane tells a story.
"My favorite exhibits are ones that connect visitors to people's stories," Roland said. "I have planes that might be my favorites but I like our D-Day exhibit because we tried hard to connect people to these huge events that were doing on during World War II."
Paul said the museum's youngest visitors bring him the most joy.
"When you see a kid come in here and look at an exhibit or an aircraft and see them light up and go, 'Wow,' it makes everything you have to go through to get that exhibit done worth it," he said.
