The Kansas Children’s Discovery Center will open the nationally traveling Aim High: Soaring with the Tuskegee Airmen Exhibit featuring Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight from October 3, 2026 to January 3, 2027. The exhibit is included in the cost of regular admission.

Together, these interactive exhibits invite visitors to explore aviation from the inspiring history of the Tuskegee Airmen to 21st-century STEM concepts. Inspired by the tools and tasks involved in flying and aeronautics, the interactive experiences combine real artifacts with hands-on play. Visitors of all ages can imagine themselves as aviators, learn from the past, and dream about the future.

Aim High: Soaring with the Tuskegee Airmen was created by Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh in partnership with Hosanna House, and features Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight, organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. Black Wings was made possible by the generous support of MetLife Foundation.

In this play-and-learn exhibit, visitors explore the world of aviation through hands-on activities, dramatic play, and interactive challenges. Visitors will:

• Take the captain’s seat inside a life-size cockpit, equipped with video to immerse visitors in the pilot’s point of view. 
• Guide a plane to safety through the Land the Plane Maze, tilting and turning to navigate around red planes and reach the runway.
• Step into the world of aviation as interactive mirrors reveal airplanes while visitors move, jump, and play. 
• Build their own wings or rocket ship and strap in for an imaginary journey through the clouds, outer space, or anywhere their imagination takes them.
• Load the cargo plane with essential supplies while making sure the plane stays balanced.
• Create, test and improve a paper airplane or rocket and watch it soar on the distance course. 
• Explore the six principles of the Tuskegee Airmen: aim high, believe in yourself, use your brain, be ready to go, never quit, and expect to win, with an interactive tangram puzzle. 
• Dive into aviation history by exploring historical artifacts and interactive panels on display.