National Balloon Museum facts for kids
The National Balloon Museum is a special museum located in Indianola, Iowa. It started in 1975 in temporary spots and then found a permanent home in 1988. All the exhibits at the museum are about hot air ballooning and gas ballooning. The museum building itself is shaped like the basket, or gondola, of a hot air balloon! There are only two balloon museums in the United States, and this is one of them. The other is the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum.
Contents
Discovering Balloon History
How the Museum Started
The story of the National Balloon Museum began in 1970 when Indianola hosted the first big hot air balloon competition. This event was so successful that the championships became a yearly tradition. Because of these popular competitions, temporary exhibits about balloons were created each year. People soon realized there was a need for a permanent place to keep these amazing exhibits all year round. That's how the idea for the museum was born!
What You Can See Inside
The museum's collection comes from the Balloon Federation of America, a group dedicated to balloons. It covers more than 200 years of ballooning history! One of the most exciting items in the museum is the first hot air balloon that ever crossed the English Channel.
Inside the museum, you'll also find the U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame. There's a fun children's area too, where kids can take cool photos and read books about balloons. Plus, there's a library full of information for anyone who wants to learn more.
Visitors and Events
All the people who work at the museum are volunteers, which means they give their time because they love balloons! About 24,000 people visit the museum every year, coming from over twenty different countries.
Since 1989, the museum has hosted a big nine-day festival called the National Balloon Classic. This exciting event happens every year in late July. In 2015, the museum received a very large donation from someone's will, which helped it continue its important work.
U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame
Honoring Ballooning Heroes
The U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame is located inside the National Balloon Museum. Its purpose is to honor people who have made important contributions to the sport and development of ballooning. These are individuals who have truly helped ballooning grow and become what it is today.
Inducted Members
Here are the amazing people who have been welcomed into the Hall of Fame:
- 2004: Paul E. (Ed) Yost
- 2005: Don N. Kersten, Sidney D. Cutter
- 2006: Bruce Comstock, Peter Pellegrino
- 2007: Deke Sonnichsen, Malcolm Stevenson Forbes
- 2008: Tracy Barnes, Eddie Allen
- 2009: Jim Winker, Lucy Luck Stefan, Karl H. Stefan
- 2010: Anthony M. Fairbanks, Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., Thomas A.F. Sheppard
- 2011: Ben L. Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, Dewey Reinhard
- 2012: Carol Rymer Davis, Dr. William Grabb, Matt Wiederkehr
- 2013: Dennis E. Floden, William Murtorff, Dr. Clayton Lay Thomas
- 2014: Nikki Caplan, Chauncey Dunn, Don Piccard
- 2015: Robert Dodds Meddock, Jr., Constance C. Wolf
- 2016: Troy Bradley, Bill Bussey, Bob Sparks
- 2017: David Levin, Steve Fossett, Thaddeus Lowe
- 2018: Debbra Spaeth, Alan Blount, Ward Van Orman
- 2019: Eleanor Vadala, Jim Birk—McAllen, Nick Saum
- 2020: Coy Foster, Mark Sullivan
