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Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum
Evergreen Aviation Museum.jpg
Established 1991 (as the Evergreen Museum)
Location McMinnville, Oregon, United States
Type Aerospace museum
Founder Delford M. Smith and Michael King Smith

The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is a super cool museum in McMinnville, Oregon. It's a non-profit place, which means it's run for the public good, not to make money. This museum is famous for its amazing collection of planes and spacecraft.

You can see the giant Hughes H-4 Hercules, also known as the Spruce Goose, here! There are also over fifty other aircraft, including military jets, civilian planes, and even drones. Plus, you'll find real spacecraft. The museum has four main parts: an aviation hall, a huge movie theater, a space technology hall, and even a water park!

The museum is located right across the highway from the old offices of Evergreen International Aviation. It's also near the McMinnville Municipal Airport.

How the Museum Started

The idea for the Evergreen Museum came from Michael King Smith. He was a former captain in the United States Air Force. His dad, Delford M. Smith, founded Evergreen International Aviation. The museum first opened in 1991. Back then, it was a small collection of old planes in a hangar.

The Spruce Goose Finds a Home

In March 1990, The Walt Disney Company decided to close its exhibit of the Spruce Goose in California. This huge, historic aircraft needed a new home. In 1992, the Evergreen Museum won the chance to host it! They planned to build a whole new museum around this amazing plane.

Taking the Spruce Goose apart began in August 1992. Its pieces traveled by ship up the Pacific Ocean and then by river to Dayton, Oregon. From there, trucks carried the parts to Evergreen International Aviation. The plane arrived in February 1993.

For the next eight years, many volunteers worked hard to restore the plane. They removed all the old paint, fixed worn parts, and repainted the entire aircraft. In September 2000, the main parts were ready. The body, wings, and tail were moved into the new museum building, which was still being built. Over the next year, crews put the wings and tail onto the body. Everything was ready for the museum's grand opening on June 6, 2001. The last piece was added on December 7, 2001.

Changing Names and Growing Bigger

The museum's name has changed a few times. It started as the Evergreen Museum. In 1994, it became the Evergreen AirVenture Museum. Then, in 1997, it was renamed the Captain Michael King Smith Evergreen Aviation Educational Center. This was to honor Michael King Smith, who sadly passed away in 1995.

In September 2006, work started on a new space museum building. It was designed to look just like the aviation museum. The museum had collected many space items and needed more room. The new building was finished in May 2008. It opened on June 6, 2008, exactly seven years after the aviation museum. In 2009, the museum joined the Smithsonian Affiliations program. This means it's connected to the famous Smithsonian museums!

Overcoming Challenges

B-17G at Evergreen Museum
The museum's B-17G, a famous World War II bomber.

Like many places, the museum faced some tough times financially. However, it always found a way to keep going. In April 2020, a company called The Stoller Group helped the museum get back on its feet. They bought some of the land around the museum and the water park. This helped the museum become financially stable again. The Stoller Group also started fixing up the museum and water park. They even plan to make the vineyard on the grounds bigger.

What You Can See at the Museum

LGM-25C Titan II (6586628193) (2)
The huge Martin Titan II SLV Space Launch Vehicle rocket inside the museum.

As of 2025, there are two main exhibit buildings open to visitors.

The Aviation Center

This is the original building. The amazing Spruce Goose is the main attraction here! Other aircraft from all parts of aviation history are displayed around it. Some are parked under the Spruce Goose's huge wings, and others hang from the ceiling.

The Space Flight Center

This building is the same size as the aviation center. Since there are fewer actual spacecraft, this center has many displays and panels. They tell the story of space travel. You can even try out flight simulators! Imagine landing the Space Shuttle or docking a Gemini capsule. You can also try a Moon landing in the Lunar Excursion Module. This building also shows off some of the museum's high-speed jet aircraft.

Two of the most impressive things in the space flight center are a Titan II SLV satellite booster rocket and a SR-71 Blackbird. The Titan II rocket stands upright and is so tall it goes two stories below the floor! It's 114 feet tall. The exhibit also has a recreated Titan II SLV Launch Control Room. It has real equipment from a former Air Force base.

T-55 at Evergreen Aviation Museum
A T-55 tank on display at the museum.

Outside the museum, you can see an F-15 Eagle jet on a tall stand. It's in front of the old Evergreen International Aviation headquarters. There's also a bronze statue nearby. Both are there to remember Michael King Smith.

The Digital Theater

A smaller building holds the Evergreen Digital Theater. It has a giant screen that's seven stories wide and six stories tall! It also has amazing surround sound.

Behind the aviation center, there's a field for flying radio-controlled airplanes.

A panorama of the museum, taken from under the wing of the Hughes H-4 Hercules.

Wings and Waves Waterpark

Evergreen Air and Space Museum water slide - McMinnville, Oregon
Exterior of the waterpark, showing the mounted Boeing 747-100.

The Wings & Waves Waterpark opened on June 6, 2011. It's Oregon's largest waterpark, covering 71,350 square feet! It has 10 slides and a wave pool. The waterpark also connects to the museum's educational goals. It has a "Life Needs Water" science center for kids. The four biggest slides start inside a real, retired Boeing 747-100 plane! This plane sits on the roof, 62 feet above the splash landing.

Another Boeing 747, a 747-200 model, is also displayed across from the museum building. It was first delivered to Singapore Airlines in 1973. It flew for several airlines before Evergreen International Airlines got it in 1995. It was retired and given to the museum in 2013.

In April 2020, The Stoller Group bought the land that included the museum buildings and water park. They plan to fix up the water park and build a 90-room hotel nearby.

Amazing Aircraft and Spacecraft

SR-71 flight instruments.triddle
The instrument panel of an SR-71 Blackbird.
SR-71 fore-view Evergreen Museum
An SR-71 Blackbird under the wing of the Spruce Goose (before it moved to the new space building).

The museum has a fantastic collection of aircraft and spacecraft. Here are just a few highlights:

Aircraft Collection

The museum displays many different types of aircraft. These include:

The museum also has many aircraft engines and other helicopters.

Spacecraft Collection

The space building features impressive items like:

  • A Foton-6 Space Capsule.
  • The huge Martin Titan II SLV Space Launch Vehicle. This is the last of its kind that was built but never launched! Its exhibit includes the actual launch control equipment.
  • A Titan IV launch vehicle, one of only two left in the world.
  • A Mercury Space Capsule.
  • The NASA X-38 V-131R, a test vehicle for a future crew return craft.
  • A PGM-11 Redstone missile.
  • A full-scale wooden model of the North American X-15 rocket plane.
A 90-degree panorama of the museum, showing the giant Hughes H-4 Hercules, also known as the Spruce Goose.

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