"Trans World Airlines Smithsonian 1996" Scrapbook

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of one scrapbook created by Joan Green Wright measuring 7.5 x 8 x 2 inches. Entitled "TWA Smithsonian 1996," the item contains photographs, news clippings, brochures, and other archival materials detailing the Kansas City venue of the traveling exhibition "America's Smithsonian," a national tour celebrating the Smithsonian's 150th anniversary.

Arrangement

One item.

Biographical / Historical

"America's Smithsonian" was a traveling exhibition in 1996 that celebrated the Smithsonian Institution's 150th anniversary. Engaging a nationwide audience, the tour visited twelve cities across the country within a two-year run. As a 100,000-square-foot show, it featured more than 300 national treasures and iconic artifacts from the Smithsonian museums that highlighted American history, culture, and scientific achievement.

The official airline sponsor of "American's Smithsonian" was Trans World Airlines (TWA). Their alum organization, Clipped Wings, was invited to help "host" the exhibition. One volunteer at the venue in Kansas City, Missouri was Joan Green Wright, who began her career with TWA as a flight attendant in 1961. In 1964, when she married Kenneth Wright, a TWA ground employee at Dulles International Airport (IAD), Chantilly, Virginia, she left the airline as it still required at this time women to be single. They moved to Kansas City where Wright had a long, successful career as a teacher. After retiring, she became a member of Clipped Wings and had the opportunity to participate in this exhibition. Wright created this scrapbook to commemorate her experience volunteering at "American's Smithsonian" in Kansas City.