Strategic Air & Space Museum - Ashland, Nebraska - Aircraft Museum

The Strategic Air & Space Museum is situated on Interstate 80, Exit 426 at West Park Highway in Ashland, Nebraska and parking at the site is free. The museum opens seven days a week from 9am to 5pm and is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Years Day and the Easter holidays. Visitors should also note that the museum closes two hours earlier on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve.

The museum's roots date back to1959 when it opened as the Strategic Aircraft Museum at the end of an old runway at Offutt AFB in Nebraska. It was designed to preserve historic aircraft with the first artifact to be placed in the museum a B-36 Peacemaker.

Building of the existing site began in 1996 before opening two years later, and in 2001 the museum changed to its existing name.

There are many different types of aircraft on display at the museum ranging from the RF-4C Phantom II, RB-45C Tornado and the British aircraft, Avro Hawker Vulcan, which was presented to the museum as a token of cooperation between the Royal Air Force and the Strategic Air Command. The site houses several permanent exhibitions including the Vietnam Memorial Wall, which honors the U.S soldiers who died in service during the Vietnam War. The Linebacker II display provides a recollection of the men and machines of the U.S. Seventh Air Force and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 that took part in bombing missions at North Vietnam in 1972.

Other exhibits here include a tribute to a Nebraska native and NASA astronaut, Clayton Anderson. Visitors can learn about Anderson's early life in Nebraska, as well as the intense training he had to take prior to traveling aboard the space shuttle to the International Space Station in 2007. World War II is remembered too with exhibits about the 9th Air Force and the Martin Bomber Plant, where both atomic bombers Enola Gay and Bock's Car were manufactured. Lifelong Lincoln resident Richard Joyce, who took part in the 1942 attack on Tokyo, led by Jimmy Doolittle is also featured here.

Children can find plenty to do here as well with a Kids Space featuring fun things for them to play with. There are flight simulator rides, a Dreamers Gallery and an International Play Station. Overnight camps can also be arranged for scout groups as well as field trips at the museum for students.

Special events can be catered for at the museum including dinners, weddings, receptions, meetings and parties for up to 3,000 guests. The rental package includes use of the free parking area, which can hold up to 250 cars and 25 buses or up to 550 cars. All areas of the building are no smoking and rooms available to rent include the full building after hours only, Durham Restoration where dinners can be held for up to 2,000 guests or the two hangar areas, where guests dine amongst a backdrop of large aircraft.