History
History in the making, The Anderson - Abruzzo
Albuquerque International Balloon Museum
The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum presents the development of ballooning through historic, scientific and artistic objects reflecting world-wide achievements in this field. Our holdings were brought together through the efforts of the Anderson and Abruzzo families, the City of Albuquerque, various local, national and international supporters, and with the support of the Anderson-Abruzzo International Balloon Museum Foundation. Collections include material donated by individuals directly involved in ballooning endeavors, as well as by ballooning and history enthusiasts from all over the world. We also hold the Soukup and Thomas International Balloon and Airship Museum collection, donated to the City of Albuquerque through the City of Mitchell, South Dakota in 2000.
The Balloon Museum's collection includes more than fifty historic and contemporary gondolas, many accompanied by complete balloon systems. Of special note are gondolas related to scientific and record-setting flights:
Stratolab and Sky Car: stratospheric flight gondolas
Jules Verne: three around the world attempts in the1980s
Kitty Hawk: the first North American transcontinental flight (Jules Verne & Kitty Hawk utilized the same gondola framework)
Double Eagle V: First trans-Pacific crossing in 1981
Rosie O'Grady: First solo Atlantic crossing,1984
Steve Fossett's hyperbaric chamber: Used while training for solo around the world flight in 2002.
Historic Gondolas & Artifacts
French wicker baskets from the 1880's
World War I observation Balloon
Wicker gondola of Victorian celebrity showman Lt. Lempriere
A collection of scientific instruments, navigation and communication equipment complementing the gondolas.
Victorian parachute used by Marie Merton as she jumped out of gas balloons from heights up to 10,000 feet
Our collection of rare and contemporary books spans the spectrum of lighter-than-air publications. It includes material on hot air balloons, gas balloons, and airships, and contains scientific, autobiographical, biographical, and popular publications. The earliest publications in the rare book collection date from within weeks of the first balloon launchings in 1783. Additional archival material includes manuscript letters by historic aeronauts (including Joseph Montgolfier, Pilâtre de Rozier, Madame Blanchard, and Graf von Zeppelin, among others), handbills, broadsides, newspapers, newsletters and ballooning serial publications.
A broad grouping of philatelic material includes individual postage stamps, sets, souvenir sheets, cachets, balloon mail, covers, specimens, postal stationery, and post cards. This worldwide topical collection of material commemorates balloon events, milestones and personages, and documents the development of various balloon and airship systems. The museum also holds an important numismatic collection of commemorative medals and medallions, coins, and tokens.
A decorative art collection includes historic jewelry, decorated boxes, crockery, place settings and glassware as well as examples of original oil paintings, photographs, lithographs, and serigraphs. A large grouping of ballooning memorabilia illustrates the importance of keepsakes across time and space. Included are early pins, certificates, calling cards, and World War I era collectible porcelains, as well as more recent pins, patches, stickers, basket banners, jackets, tee shirts and caps from contemporary worldwide ballooning events.
Exhibits include:
In The Beginning: Triumphs & Tragedies
Space and Science
War and Military
Milestones in Modern Ballooning
How Balloons Fly
Sport and Spectacle
Art and Culture
The AAAIBM Education program encompasses public school programs, outreach presentations, symposia, lectures and multi-media special events. In addition to designing curricular materials, which may be integrated into regional classrooms, the museum has launched a Balloon Summer Camp, and plans to host similar events throughout the academic year. Since Spring 2004, the Museum has joined Albuquerque Public Schools community partnerships "Join-a-School" project and we are planning special programs for our partner schools, East San Jose Elementary School and Albuquerque High School. Balloon Museum education presentations have been part of numerous Albuquerque Public Library programs and City of Albuquerque Senior Center activities. The Balloon Museum is an active participant in Celebra la Ciencia projects, promoting science education for Hispanic children, and is a member of the nascent Museum Educators Committee of the New Mexico Association of Museums.
Museum classroom space will be devoted to educational workshops, and hands-on interactive activities will be integrated into museum exhibits.
E-mail: info@balloonmuseum.com
