Recognizing special people across the transportation industry was at the core of the $3.6 million federal appropriation the Iowa Transportation Museum received through the efforts of Senator Chuck Grassley and the Iowa congressional delegation. To bring this concept to life, Public Communications Inc. of Chicago was retained and has spoken with leaders across the trucking, engineering, aviation, heavy equipment manufacturing and highway construction categories. From this research we have created the National Transportation Heroes Center – an online, interactive database that recognizes both “everyday” and “extraordinary” heroes, past and present.
Nominate Your Transportation Hero Now
Over the next few months a call will go out for the nomination of
our inaugural group of Transportation Heroes. Nominations will be solicited through the media and the Museum’s website and may come from families, employers, labor organizations, trade associations and anyone else interested in transportation. In particular, students will be encouraged to research potential nominees. At first the system will only recognize Iowans, but ultimately it will become national in scope.
A Selections Committee will review all nominations and the Transportation Heroes website will include interviews and stories about each hero. Related exhibits at the Iowa Transportation Museum will use these stories to tell the larger story of how transportation systems keep our country strong.
To view the new Transportation Heroes website, click the link in the menu at the upper left.
Construction Update
More construction on the Spaulding buildings will begin this fall and is expected to require 12 months. The interior of Administration Building will be restored to its 1906 appearance and a three-story glass and steel Atrium Connector will link it to the East building, dating from the 1880s.
Approximately 9000 square feet of exhibit space will be available. The second floor of the Administration Building will be used for conference-meeting space and able to accommodate meetings to 200 and banquets for up to 125 people.
Exhibit Designers Selected
While construction begins on the Spaulding buildings, exhibit planning is also underway. Two firms, Ciulla Design of Sarasota, FL and Design Craftsmen of Midland, MI will work together to conceive and prepare the displays. Initially, they will meet with teams of Iowa educators, historians and industry-based experts to develop the key themes for the museum’s indoor and outdoor exhibits.
For more than 30 years Ciulla Design has developed and designed engaging educational visitor experiences for America’s leading
museums, parks, historic sites and visitor centers. Of specific note is their work for projects and institutions such as the Department of Transportation Walking Exhibition, The National Trust’s Lincoln Cottage, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor; as well as several planning projects for the National Park Service, including The Western Historic Trails Center, Council Bluffs, IA.
Design Craftsmen was founded in 1969 and has produced hundreds of major projects for clients throughout the world, including the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry’s U-505 Submarine Exhibit, the Holocaust Memorial Center, Walter P. Chrysler Museum, St. Louis Museum of Transportation and most recently the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
