Taking Flight | The Tuskegee Airmen and The Great Lakes

February 9 through March 31, 2024 | During Regular Museum Hours

Monday – Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday: 12 – 5 p.m.
Closed on Tuesdays: November 1 - April 30

Take flight through history to uncover the Great Lakes connection to the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

During WWII, with a segregated military, African American men were sent to the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama to train for working in, on, and around airplanes. Held to a much higher standard to be eligible to enter the military’s aviation program, the African American men graduating from Tuskegee were some of the smartest and most fit pilots in U.S. military history. 

• Get a snapshot of the extraordinary lives of the Tuskegee pilots, navigators, bombardiers, radio operators, mechanics, and armorers. 
• Learn the tragic story of Lt. Frank Moody—a Tuskegee pilot who lost his life on a training mission over Lake Huron in 1944
• Take a peek into the role the Great Lakes played during WWII

Join us as we take flight through history to uncover the elite men who trained to become the famed Tuskegee Airmen and examine the tragic story of Lt. Moody, whose aircraft (recently discovered at the bottom of Lake Huron) has brought their courageous stories front and center once again. 

Taking Flight—The Tuskegee Airmen and The Great Lakes micro exhibit, is included with regular admission and is available beginning February 9 through March 31.