Air Zoo to get $1.8 million expansion

By mid-2011 the Air Zoo in Portage could be 50,000 square feet bigger.

An exhibit hall is being added to the Air Zoo, one of the Kalamazoo area’s top tourist attractions. The expansion, which comes with a price tag of $1.8 million, will provide space for new and current exhibits, a 4,000-square-foot archive and an expanded library.

The Michigan Space Science Center will be relocated from the Air Zoo’s east campus as part of the expansion, in keeping with a plan developed four years ago. It was located at Jackson Community College until 2003.

The expansion also will allow World War II naval aviation exhibits now housed at the east campus to be moved to the main campus.

Air Zoo president and CEO Bob Ellis says visitors from all 50 states and many foreign countries come to the Air Zoo to experience its unique attractions and aircraft collection.

The 7-year-old Air Zoo, now with 118,500 square feet, has more than 50 aircraft on display, from World War II bombers to the modern era SR-71B Blackbird. Exhibits are surrounded by floor to ceiling mural artwork and other art pieces that celebrate air and space flight.

The Air Zoo is a nonprofit organization located at 6151 Portage Road in Portage. Admission is free and tickets are sold for individual rides inside the museum. It is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and offers a restaurant, gift shop and banquet facilities.

For more information about the Air Zoo, please call 269-382-6555 or visit its website.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Bob Ellis, Air Zoo