An Air & Space History Exhibit
The history of the Boeing Company and the companies with which it shares a common heritage parallels the exciting history of humankind learning to fly. The men and women of The Boeing Company and the aircraft they have built -- from the first cloth-and-wood airplanes to today's sleekest fighters and jetliners -- have played a pivotal role in shaping the history of aerospace.
The James S. McDonnell Prologue Room in St. Louis tells this panoramic story of more than eight decades of aviation progress, from biplanes to space travel. Scale models, dioramas, paintings and photographs depict such important events as the first flight around the world in 1924, the first take-off of a jet fighter from a U.S. Navy carrier in 1946, the first aircraft to land at the South Pole in 1956, and the first manned spacecraft to orbit the Earth in 1962.
From September through May an educational program on "The Mystery of Flight" is available to student groups in the fourth grade and above. Adult guided tours are also available to organized groups of 10 or more. Reservations are required for both adult and student group tours.
During the summer (June - August), the exhibit is open to the general public. Individuals or families may visit the exhibit free of charge. The room is designed for a self-guided tour, however, guided tours are offered by reservation to groups of 10 or more.
Visitors can view large-scale models (1/7-scale) of the F-15 Eagle, F/A-18 Hornet and AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. Wind-tunnel size (1/4-scale) models include commercial jetliners -- including Boeing's newest 787 Dreamliner, military transport aircraft and Air Force One. Displays of rockets and missiles include a full-scale model of a Harpoon radar-guided missile. At the exhibit's center are full-size engineering mockups of the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft that carried America's first astronauts into space. Also on display are scale models of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.
The James S. McDonnell Prologue Room is named in tribute to "Mr. Mac" who founded the St. Louis-based McDonnell Aircraft Co. in 1939. Often quoting Shakespeare's "what's past is prologue," Mr. Mac believed we should honor and learn from our past but not live in it.
Part of the Integrated Defense Systems unit of The Boeing Company, the exhibit represents all of Boeing throughout history and is located on the lobby level of the Bldg. 100, adjacent to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
June 2006