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The Aviation Hall of Fame at Teterboro is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a Buzz Aldrin exhibit, opening in about two weeks.
“Twelve out of 7 billion have walked someplace other than Earth. They have walked on the moon,” said Joe Lennox, the museum’s president. “Of those 12, only one comes from New Jersey.”
Aldrin, who grew up in Montclair, was the second man to touch the lunar surface. The exhibit will feature a giant mural of Earth from space and memorabilia from Gemini 12 and Apollo 11 – two missions Aldrin flew on – as well as flight hardware, newspapers and magazines. It will also have a video interview with Aldrin and another about how to get to the moon. Lennox is also looking to raise the money for a replica Apollo moon suit.
The exhibit and museum are important not only to preserve history but also to ensure aerospace's future, Lennox said.
“We want to become a learning center where we ignite the aerospace fires in the children of today,” he said.
All of the museum staff became invested in space as children and went on to become pilots, managers, aerospace historians and technicians. They maintain a variety of exhibits and memorabilia, including presentations about Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and the Hindenburg.
The museum has several interactive exhibits, including one in which children can climb into planes and another in which children and visitors can use a joystick to fly a plane in a wind tunnel.
Lennox wants to change the museum from what he believes is the best kept-secret in New Jersey.
“These children are the future of the aerospace industry. They will be the astronauts and pilots and scientists and engineers of tomorrow,” he said. “If we do not get them excited about aerospace, truly the industry is in trouble.”
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