Museums preserve and exhibit important cultural, artistic, historical or scientific artifacts. While these exhibits provide informative and visual explorations, there are many benefits to visiting these institutions.
Simply put, museums help to teach, inspire and connect communities.
Teach
Museums teach through informal learning—an unstructured and spontaneous educational experience. This type of learning occurs naturally and every day. In fact, according to some reports, 90% of one’s education comes through informal learning.
Interacting with museum displays and information is a fun and engaging way for kids and adults alike to partake in an informal educational experience to learn more about a place’s culture, tradition or history. But many museums elevate their educational missions to include more formal learning experiences.
For example, the Hill Aerospace Museum offers a summer STEM program. Classes are held twice per day beginning at the start of the summer and are open to kids eight and older. Each class covers a specific topic, such as astronomy, electricity, chemistry, weather, simple machines and more. Plus, the STEM classes are completely free.
Inspire
From the awe-inspiring to the surprising, museums create existential reactions only available through witnessing something remarkable. Visitors of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum can touch a Moon rock. Walking around Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Guggenheim Museum elicits architectural wonder. And many museums have artistic and cultural exhibitions that evoke an unrivaled fascination.
Perhaps little in this world is more inspiring than manned flight. From its humble and unrestrained beginnings in 1909 with Wilbur and Orville Wright’s Model A to the earth-shaking power of modern aircraft, human flight has inspired imaginations for more than 100 years. And the Hill Aerospace Museum has an impressive collection of both modern and vintage aircraft that beg rumination.
Oftentimes, inspiring experiences motivate people to take action in their lives and do something creative or impactful. Reading books, watching movies and going to museums are all great ideas to get inspired. But none of these can also help communities connect quite like museums.
Connect
Many museum-goers report the top reason for visiting is to spend time with family or friends. However, museums bring together more than just relatives and close friends. Museums around the country are turning into venues that attract a wide range of community members through hosting concerts, conferences and more.
The Hill Aerospace Museum hosts events such as an Easter egg hunt and Santa Claus visit every year. We also host other community events, such as a celebration for Hill Air Force Base’s 80th birthday, and, of course, the aforementioned STEM summer program for kids.
With free admission to the Hill Aerospace Museum, it can be hard to find a reason to not visit. With more than 70 vintage and modern aircraft on display throughout two indoor galleries and an outdoor airpark, visitors can witness advances in aviation from the awe-inspiring Lockheed SR-71C Blackbird to the infamous B-17 Flying Fortress. Thousands of military artifacts on display introduce visitors to the history of aviation and the United States Air Force.
Visit the Hill Aerospace Museum in Roy, Utah, from 9 a.m. till 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It’s easy to find—just take exit 338 off of I-15 and turn east. With a C-124C Globemaster II at the front of the building, you can’t miss us!
