Today, February 8, 2010, is opening day for a new Olympic History Museum at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO).

Designed to draw attention to efforts to bring the winter games to Reno in 2022 and to the upcoming 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, the museum celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympic Winter Games.

The museum has flags from all the countries that were represented at the 1960 Olympics,as well as photos, magazines, uniforms, the Longine Clock, and much more.  Passengers can have a picture taken in Olympian fashion while standing on the platforms used during the awards ceremony: the US flag hangs above the Gold podium, the Canadian flag above the Silver podium, and the British flag above the Bronze podium.

Today’s opening ceremony will kick off with an Olympic parade, complete with trumpeters sounding the Olympic Theme Song, Olympians carrying the U.S. and Nevada Flags, and a replica of the Olympic flame. The Squaw Valley Rescue Dogs, who will be traveling to this year’s winter games in Vancouver, Canada, will also be on hand.

The Olympic History Museum will be on exhibit at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport through the end of 2010.

Categories: Air Travel, Art, Events, History

Thanks to ThisDayin History.com for the reminder that on this day, February 7, back in 1964, Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight 101 from London Heathrow landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport with its special cargo of Beatles.

According to History.com:

It was the first visit to the United States by the Beatles, a British rock-and-roll quartet that had just scored its first No. 1 U.S. hit six days before with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” At Kennedy, the “Fab Four”–dressed in mod suits and sporting their trademark pudding bowl haircuts–were greeted by 3,000 screaming fans who caused a near riot when the boys stepped off their plane and onto American soil.

Here’s a great video using clips from that day:

Two days after their arrival at JFK, the Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Categories: Air Travel, Airlines, Aviation history, Fun Stuff, History, Music

Happy Souvenir Sunday!

If you’re stuck at the airport you can snooze, snack, eavesdrop and, of course, shop for souvenirs.  So each Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com we feature fun, local, offbeat,  items you can find at airports for under $10.

This week’s souvenir comes to us (again!!) from Ken Rogers.  He sent along this photo from San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

The jail bird is no doubt a reference to Robert “Birdman of Alcatraz” Stroud , an infamous inmate who bred canaries (at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas, not at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary ) and who was portrayed in the movie The Birdman of Alcatraz, by Burt Lancaster.

Today, Alcatraz Island is part of the National Park Service. In addition to prison facilities, the island has historic gardens, bird colonies, a rich history, and an on-line museum that includes a virtual tour of the prison, audio clips, and photos of all sorts of Alcatraz-related items, including John Anglin’s Fake Head

According to the Alcatraz Island web site:

The Anglin Brothers, Frank Morris and Allen Clayton West made fake heads of cotton, soap and human hair. They placed the painted heads in their beds to cover their escape in 1962.

Did you find a great souvenir last time you were stuck at the airport?

If it’s under $10, “of” the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat, then please snap a photo and send it along.

Your souvenir may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.

Categories: Air Travel, Airport shops, History, Souvenir Sunday

This weekend would be a good time to have as my superpower the ability to travel anywhere in the world and be in several places at once.

If I could, I’d stop first in Richmond, British Columbia, a short SkyTrain ride away from the Vancouver International Airport to watch 13 million (!!) locally-grown cranberries get dumped into the Fraser River in front of the Richmond Olympic Oval to form a  giant floating version of the maple leaf, rings and flame that make up the Canadian Olympic Committee logo.

Then I’d head over to the Dusseldorf International Airport to see if they finished trucking in enough snow (and turned the temperature down low enough) to make the world’s first indoor ski jump in an airport.   When they sent this photo, they were just waiting for the snow to arrive.

It would be fun, too, to stop at New York’s Albany International Airport (ALB), where the newest art show, Material Witness, is now underway.

And it might be interesting to touch down in Wichita, Kansas.  The Wichita Art Museum is one of the 100 or so museums around the country where Bank of America account holders can get free admission this weekend as part of the Museums on Us program.  And look what the Wichita Art Museum is using to promote an exhibition of works of paper.

(Robert Cottingham, Wichita (1985)

But, alas, the ability to be everywhere at once is not my super power.

So instead, I’ll stick close to home this weekend and pay a visit to the Museum of Flight, just up the road from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where there’s an exhibit titled  In Search of Amelia Earhart.

This exhibit includes many of Earhart’s personal artifacts,  including a suede jacket she wore on her 1932 solo transatlantic flight, two flight suits, a helmet,  a scarf,  newsreel footage and photos.

Amelia Earhart and her Lockheed L-10E Electra NR 16020 c. 1937. | The Museum of Flight

Categories: Air Travel, Airplanes, Art, Exhibits, Fun Stuff, Getting around

Valentine’s Day is coming up and that makes it a good time to check out the exhibit of necklaces, bracelets, lockets, pins and “Sweetheart jewelry” on display at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

According to the airport newsletter:

During World War II, sending mementos known as sweetheart jewelry to soldiers was a popular tradition, which had started during World War I.

Soldiers would pound, mold, hammer and polish any available piece of metal, plastic or seashells to make the jewelry. Aluminum and windshields from downed aircraft were used to craft bracelets, necklaces, pendants and pins

In addition to writing letters, families, wives and girlfriends shipped handcrafted jewelry as another way to stay connected with the soldiers.

The airport’s collection of sweetheart jewelry is from the National Museum of Patriotism (their Web site is undergoing a make-over) and is on display between the Terminal North baggage claim and the Airport’s MARTA station entrance.

Categories: Art, Exhibits