Welcome to the grandest ballooning museum, located in the "Capital of Ballooning!"

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

HOLIDAYS TAKE FLIGHT

December 6, 2009  11 AM - 4 PM
FREE Admission

Be part of the Holiday cheer

• Get your photo taken with Balloon Pilot Santa
• Explore the "decked out" halls and galleries of the Museum" and experience the new exhibition 'ART OF THE AIRSHIP'
• Arts, crafts, face-painting, balloon-shaped cookie decorating, and balloon hats.
• Live seasonal music!
• Shop for holiday gifts at the Museum Shoppe
• Lucky Paws pet adoption
• Bring a gift for Toys for Tots

'Stories in the Sky' Every Wednesday Morning -  FREE Admission

"Stories in the Sky" is a free storytelling program for children ages 6 months to 6 years. It is offered from 9:30 a.m to 10:15 a.m. every Wednesday.

The program features stories, games, songs, crafts and movement.

Upcoming Storytellers:

• 11/18 Pink Elephant
• 11/25 Patricio Trujillo
• 12/2 Ramona King
• 12/6 Brenda Hollingworth-Marley (during Holidays Take Flight, special time - 11:15 AM)
• 12/9 Patricio Trujillo
• 12/16 Cindie Cropsey
• 12/23 Brenda Hollingworth-Marley

Pieces of the Sky: The Balloon Museum Quilt Challenge

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, 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. 

Special Exhibitions

Art of the Airship - opens December 6, 2009 through November 2010

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!

 

A Fiesta Patchwork: Images Through Time

This exhibition is a graphical celebration of Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque's premier annual event.

More Fiesta Patchwork 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 >>

The Flying Bus Program

The Flying Bus Program provides field trips to the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum for underserved children, Title I schools, community centers and senior centers.

Museum admission, transportation funding, and educational materials are included.

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

For information, contact Balloon Museum Education Coordinators Suzanne Visor or Emily Greenwood at (505)-768-6020.

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.