Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum has been a proud Smithsonian Affiliate since 2012. This prestigious honor has awarded Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum the opportunity to share our historic battlefield with visitors and the community in new and exciting ways. From providing free tickets as the Museum brings history to life at our annual Living History Day to partnering with local organizations to participate in the National Smithsonian Youth Summit, being a Smithsonian Affiliate has given rise to some of our favorite moments.
#1: Annual Living History Day
Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, in affiliation with the annual Smithsonian Museum Day Live, brings history to life at our Living History Day and offers free admission for one special day. Movie screenings, remote control airplanes, STEM activities, flight simulators, Hangar Talks, dress up selfie stations, and open cockpits are some of the many activities offered at Living History Day.
Many of our favorite Living History Day moments include our community’s keiki and future aviators. Living History Day provides a variety of activities for children and families, including ‘meet and greets’ with Rosie the Riveter, Cornelia Fort, Franklin Erickson, and many more WWII characters of history.
 Living History Day, thanks to the Smithsonian Museum Day Live’s free admission, has provided access to families, visitors, and community members at no cost for a special day and learn more about the historic battlefield at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.
#2: Screening of “The Day We Walked on the Moon” in honor of 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing
Young boy dressed in a spacesuit on a moon rover.
In July of 2019, Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum screened the world premiere of Smithsonian Channel’s “The Day We Walked on the Moon” to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon.
The premiere of the film shared with Members, visitors, and the community a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most important days in aviation and world history. The film offered personal and historic stories with astronauts, members of mission control, and family members of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
Hawaii, and Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum both have rich history with Apollo 10, and therefore the future success of the Apollo 11 mission. In preparation for the Apollo 11 mission, Apollo 10 orbited the moon 31 times, and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near American Samoa. Charlie Brown, the nickname for the Apollo 10 space capsule, was recovered and delivered to Ford Island, Pearl Harbor for processing in our very own Hangar 79.
Screening the world premiere of “The Day We Walked on the Moon” honored the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, Hawaii’s space aviation history, and Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum’s tie to this moment in history.
#3: Smithsonian Regional YOuth Summit on Japanese Incarceration in WWII
Panelists discussing with Hawaii students and families about how fear and prejudice alter the balance between citizens’ rights and the state.
In May 2016, Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum partnered with the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii to be one of four Smithsonian Affiliates to host a regional summit for the Smithsonian National Youth Summit on Japanese American incarceration in World War II.
The summit included a panel discussion with scholars, Hawaii’s youth, and family members of those incarcerated at Honouliuli Internment Camp to help students connect past events with present-day issues. Honouliuli Internment Camp, created in 1943 on Oahu, was the longest operating and largest WWII internment and POW camp in Hawaii. The summit allowed scholars, students, and the community to dive into powerful and moving discussions about how fear and prejudice can upset and alter the balance between rights of citizens and the power of the state.
Participating in the summit allowed the Museum, scholars, students, and the community to look beyond the battlefield and the fateful day of December 7, 1941 to recognize the results and devastation that followed soon after for so many.
