- Research & Learn
About the Museum's Resources
The museum’s collection includes artifacts, photographs, articles, textiles, art work and paper items relating to the history of women in aviation and space. Thanks to the 2022 grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the museum is working to make our collections more widely accessible. To check out just some of our digitized collection, visit our online database to get started! Click here to learn more.
Exhibits
- Virtual Exhibit
Defying the Odds: Exploring the Impact of Women and Aviation in the First Half of the Twentieth Century
“Defying the Odds” explores the lasting impact of women in the world of aviation. Developed with the aid of two members of the Ohio History Service Corps AmeriCorps program, the exhibit presents just the tip of the iceberg of women’s history. Through a lens of international and U.S. history, “Defying the Odds” showcases and provides additional context of the world in which these female trailblazers lived.
- Physical Exhibitions
Currently the museum has on display a number of women who have made an impact in air & space including Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, Bessie Coleman, Harriet Quimby, Katharine Wright, Women in World War II Aviation, The New Space Age, The Whirly Girls: The Dynamic History of Women Helicopter Pilots, Quest for the Stars: Exploring the Earliest Impact of Women in Space, and more!
Exhibits are open during regular airport hours, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. daily.
- Traveling Exhibitions
The International Women’s Air & Space Museum offers traveling exhibits to libraries, schools and other organizations interested in highlighting women in aviation and aerospace. Exhibits generally contain 20-40 panels, which include photographs, reproduced documents, and label copy for use in your display.
- Exhibit Topics Include
- Katharine Wright – The Other Wright Brother
- Bessie Coleman and Her ‘Daughters’
- Defying the Odds: Exploring the Impact of Women in Aviation in the First Half of the 20th Century
- Flight to Fame: The Life and Legacy of Amelia Earhart
- Women of War: WASP Pilots of World War II
- Quest for the Stars
- The Mercury 13
- Women of the Shuttle Program
- 100 Ohio Women in Air & Space
- Women of the Space Shuttle Program
- Women in World War II Aviation
- Quest for the Stars (coming soon!)
- Bessie Coleman and Her Daughters
- Defying the Odds: Exploring the Impact of Women and Aviation in the First Half of the Twentieth Century
- Traveling Temporary Exhibit Request
If you have any questions or concerns about any of the Temporary Traveling Exhibits listed, or if you would like more information, please contact us at 216.623.1111 or email director@iwasm.org.
Fay Gillis Wells Research Center
Our extensive genre specific library focuses on women in air and space, and includes works of fiction, biographies, autobiographies, encyclopedias and more.
The museum cares for an extensive archive collection containing thousands of women and pertains to their contributions to air and space, including the Virginia Thomas Archives Collection which alone contains hundreds of files and numerous items.
The Fay Gillis Wells Research Center is open by appointment only.
All researchers are required to fill out a research form upon arrival and submit a driver’s license or state I.D. to be copied for security purposes
Research conducted in person is always free, with nominal fees for copies or reproductions. For more information, email the museum at collections@iwasm.org.
- IWASM Remembers Dorothy Ebersbach
In 2012 the Trustees of the Dorothy E. Ebersbach Estate, Gayla Russell and Thomas Foster Aldridge, donated a gift of $100,000 to The International Women’s Air & Space Museum in memory of Dorothy E. Ebersbach, a woman of great spirit and compassion. Dorothy was not only a pilot, but a nurse and former WASP. We are truly grateful to the trustees of the Ebersbach estate and honor the memory of Dorothy Ebersbach.
Oral Histories
Interviews conducted by the staff at International Women’s Air & Space Museum (IWASM) in Cleveland, Ohio. This collection of interviews exemplifies the diversity of women’s aviation history preserved at the International Women’s Air & Space Museum. From Women Airforce Service Pilots to Powder Puff Derby Pilots to the first women to work in Air Traffic Control and Mission Control; each of these women have a unique story framed by their contributions to air & space. The collection of these interviews is an ongoing process. Click here to access interviews online.
Links of Interest
American Rosie the Riveter Association
Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance
Australian Women Pilots’ Association
British Women Pilots’ Association
FAA Technical Women’s Organization
Flight to Success, An Aviator’s Journey Continues – Follow the blog of Karlene Petitt, pilot for Delta Airlines, author, and much more.
International Society of Women Airline Pilots
New Zealand Association of Women in Aviation
The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots
Pancho Barnes! A Documentary Film
Professional Women Controllers, Inc.
Sarah Byrn Rickman – award-winning author
Taylorcraft – Learn about Grace Huntington, Taylorcraft pilot and aviation pioneer
Texas Women’s University WASP Collection
Whirly Girls: International Women Helicopter Pilots
Women’s Achievements in Aviation and Space (NASA)
Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)
Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP): Remembered By Those Who Knew Them
Women in Aviation International
Women in Aviation Resource Center
Women of Color NASA Lithograph – Free PDF Download
Women Soaring Pilots Association
Aviation Museums
Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum
Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
Western Reserve Historical Society – Crawford
Wings of Eagles Discovery Center
Aviation and Space
Association of Flight Attendants
Aviation Special Interest Group
Challenger Center for Space Science Education
Experimental Aircraft Association
International Forest of Friendship
Mark Wade’s Encyclopedia Astronautica
Society of Air Racing Historians
Aviation Education
Bowling Green State University
MoneyGeek: Scholarships for Women
Women’s Excellence in Education Scholarship
Our Neighbors
Cleveland: The New American City
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
Steamship William G. Mather Museum
Northeast Ohio
Northeastern Ohio Inter-Museum Council
Women’s Organizations
International Association of Women’s Museums
National Women’s History Project
Internet Resources
College Grants & Scholarships for Women
Scholarship Opportunities for Women
20th Anniversary International Space Station
20 Breakthroughs in 20 Years of Science