“Today we are closing another chapter in the history of the National Warplane Museum, now the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center. Over a decade ago our organization relocated from Geneseo, NY to a large new facility on the Elmira- Corning Regional Airport. From the beginning there were financial challenges. Successive airshows were weathered out, utility costs went through the roof and the market was beginning to change as the number of men and women who grew up with and loved our aircraft began to decline.
Our answer was to reduce the size of our organization, change our name and begin focusing on education. Expanding our collection to include space artifacts , we began to teach Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to a new generation.
No mission could be more important.
During the midpoint of the last century, “America’s Greatest Generation”, saved the world from totalitarian rule. We have honored their service with our collection. But today, our Nation faces new challenges of an even greater magnitude. Issues of energy and environment will determine our future. Our national security and economy depend on technology, yet we are failing to educate the new generation of entrepreneurial innovators that we need to remain a superpower in a flattening, overcrowded world. Failing so miserably that our young people do not even rank in the top ten in STEM capability among industrialized countries of the world. Failure to reverse this trend will be disastrous.
To support our new mission, we needed new, affordable facilities – a critical part of a sustainable business plan based on STEM education. At the same time, aerospace giant Sikorsky was looking to expand their presence in our community. The result was a deal that has moved us just down the road, to a new location that is far better suited to our new mission.
You will find us down the street at 343 Daniel Zenker Drive in Horseheads, NY, across from the Airport Park campus of Corning Community College. Our presence there will expand as our new facilities become available.
In the coming weeks, we will reveal more of the exciting displays and programs that will define our transformation. Please plan to visit us, enjoy our museum and join in our effort to ensure that our community has access to the best STEM education available.”
– Mike Hall, President / CEO