Our Museum is dedicated to the art, culture, history, science and sport of lighter-than-air craft.

SKY SAILING!

New Exhibition -Open House
 March 7, 2010  11 am - 3 pm
FREE admission

HOLD THE DATE for one of the Balloon Museum's most spectacular
exhibitions & Open Houses!

Albuquerque's expansive, enchanting skies and unique wind currents entice a variety of 'sky sailors.'  The Balloon Museum's newest exhibition - Sky Sailing! opens to the public on March 7, 2010 with an exciting Open House from 11 am to 3 pm.  Admission will be free!

The Open House will include hang glider and paragliding demonstrations with a special performance of acrobatic paragliding featuring the internationally renowned Ozone Team (weather permitting), steel drum music, 12' walking puppets, remote controlled flight demonstrations, model gliders, and fun for all!

The Sky Sailing! special exhibition celebrates sailplanes, paragliders and hang gliders.  Among the aircraft on display will be an Olympus 180 hang glider very similar to the one that traveled the Atlantic strapped to the bottom of the Double Eagle II as well as a large sailplane on loan from the U.S. Southwest Soaring Museum in Moriarty, NM.  With wingspans of up to 50 feet, these aircraft are sure to be an impressive sight as they hang in the Museum Gallery.

Visitors to the Museum will note that balloons aren't the only things which travel on the wind!  Understanding how sailplanes, paragliders, hang gliders and other heavier-than-air vehicles sail on the ocean of air will prepare them to learn more about other things that use the wind to get around - including raptors, squirrels, fish, frogs and snakes.

SPRING BREAK FAMILY DAY!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010
10 am to 4 pm

This annual event during Spring Break will feature hands-on ballooning fun with Balloon Explorium, Inc. (their bubble box & flight simulators), The Puppet Playhouse, arts & crafts, a real hot-air balloon inflation - Cutie Dink (weather permitting), music and refreshments.  Activities are included with Museum admission ($3 NM adult; $2 seniors; $1 children 4-12; children under 4 are free).

PIECES OF THE SKY:
The Balloon Museum Quilt Challenge

CALL FOR ENTRIES!

Calling all quilters! The Balloon Museum and the New Mexico Quilters Association are soliciting entries for a themed quilt block exhibition in celebration of all kinds of flight. You can enter one or more 16" square finished quilt block in various categories. There is even a special "Youth" (16 and under) category.

Entries will be judged by a NQA Certified Quilt Judge, and ribbons will be awarded in each category. As many quilt block entries as possible will be displayed in the Museum. The exhibition will be up for one year, from May 2010 to May 2011.

To enter, read the Call for Entries, fill out and return the Entry Form along with required application fees. Be sure to take note of all entry requirements and timelines.

Entry forms must be postmarked by March 31, 2010.

"Stories in the Sky"

The Balloon Museum's storyteller extraordinaire, Laurie Magovern, IS BACK! 

'Stories in the Sky' is a free storytelling program for children ages 6 months to 6 years.  Our families are raving! "We love coming!" "Fantastic program, thank you!"   Discover our weekly hidden gem of FREE educational fun for little ones. Filled with movement, song, hands-on art, sign language, and stories, Stories in the Sky, is facilitated by our Curator of Education, Laurie Magovern. Laurie, a storyteller and teacher, is described as "very inviting and enchanting," and "is so energetic, she makes everything fun for the children." Families come back again and again because of "great variety," "creative and fun activities," and "a lovely relaxed atmosphere." Many families bring multiple generations as one grandmother wrote us, "not many 'good' things are free and this is a 'great' one." 

We hope you join us.

For children ages 0-6 and their adult companions
Wednesdays, 9:30-10:15am FREE Admission
Families are welcome to experience the entire Balloon Museum before or after the program.  For more information: 768-6020

Stories in the Sky is sponsored by a Target Grant.

SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS

Art of the Airship

Explore the beauty and elegance of airships in Art of the Airship, opening December 6. Included in the exhibition are striking photographs of airships and the massive structures which house them. Also featured are art deco pochoir prints, medallions commemorating significant flights and designers, unusual postage stamps, and elegant service ware used on the Hindenburg and Graf Zeppelins.

Fun and Games in Ballooning

Get ready for some real fun!

You don't have to own a balloon -- or even to be a crew member -- to have a great time with balloons! Get ready to learn all about "Fun and Games in Ballooning" at the Balloon Museum's newest exhibition.

You say you don't understand the physics of ballooning? Don't worry about it!

We will show you many pleasurable ways to be "puzzled by ballooning" with a wide variety of balloon-themed jigsaw puzzles on display and hands-on puzzle interactives. You can "bank on having fun" in our gallery when you discover the different lighter than air craft which have been transformed into banks to help you save up for your next trip to a major rally.

Get "all wound up" taking in a selection of artifacts from the Museum's mechanical toy collection, and then settle down to some "fun at the keyboard" by perusing balloon-themed sheet music. You can even hear vintage recordings of old-time favorites including the 1905 "Come, take a trip in my air-ship."

Items in exhibition displays will include:

• A 1929 Erector Set zeppelin
• Antique sand pails with lighter-than-air images
• First-edition novels; vintage ascent certificates for balloon rides; movie memorabilia
• Postcards depicting early balloon rides at amusement parks
• A variety of whistles, pull toys, wind-up toys, board games, playing cards, dexterity puzzles, models, mechanical toys
• And more great balloon-themed playthings.

Vintage, contemporary, retro and repro stuff abound in this colorful new Museum display.

Children of War, Voices of Peace:
Japanese and American Perspectives

The centerpiece of the new exhibition is a series of illustrations from a book written by one of nearly 2000 Japanese schoolchildren involved in making elements of the Fugo balloons from 1944 to 1945.

More Children of War, Voices of Peace Information!

Clouds, Weather and Ballooning

"Las Nubes de La Palma/Clouds of La Palma: Clouds, Weather and Ballooning." is now open.

More Clouds, Weather and Ballooning Information >>

Student Field Trips and The Flying Bus Program

Field trips are scheduled year round, Tuesday through Friday mornings and early afternoons.  Call to schedule your tour a minimum of two weeks in advance as our schedule fills quickly.

The Flying Bus Program provides field trips to the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum for qualifying groups including Title I schools and other underserved populations in the metro area.  Museum admission, transportation funding, and educational materials are included.

The Flying Bus Program is funded by The Balloon Museum Foundation.

For more information contact the Balloon Museum Education Coordinators Suzanne Visor or Emily Greenwood at (505)-768-6035.

The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum is owned and operated by the Cultural Services Department of the City of Albuquerque and supported by the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum Foundation.

'STORIES IN THE SKY'
 Every Wednesday Morning - FREE Admission