Exploring the Stafford Air and Space Museum

Harvest Hosts is an incredible RV membership program with a large network of available hosts. So far, 5,900 locations have opened their hearts and their homes and/or businesses to members of the Harvest Hosts RVing community. Through this program, members receive overnight accommodations with no camping fees in peaceful and serene places across North America. In return, members are asked to make a purchase to patronize the small business that hosts them. One of our awesome hosts is Stafford Air and Space Museum in Weatherford, Oklahoma. Here you can learn all about the museum’s longstanding history, its origins within the Harvest Hosts community, and what future visitors can expect to experience.

The History

Stafford Air and Space Museum began in 1969, with a simple display case in the Weatherford Airport terminal. It has since grown to become one of the premier educational attractions in western Oklahoma! The museum has worked closely with the Smithsonian Institution, NASA, and the U.S. Air Force Museum to assemble one of the finest collections of aerospace artifacts in the central United States.The Stafford Air & Space Museum is named in honor of famed test pilot and astronaut Lt. General Thomas P. Stafford. Stafford was born in 1930 and raised in Weatherford, OK. His mother came to Oklahoma in a covered wagon and lived to see her only child fly to the moon. In 1962, Nasa selected Stafford in their second group of astronauts, and he later went on to fly four historic space missions. In 2011, Stafford Air and Space Museum was named a Smithsonian Affiliate, bringing in even more visitors and interest.

The Business Today

Today, this museum serves to educate the public on all types of flight, from the earliest flights to more recent space activity. The museum’s newest outdoor display has already become an iconic monument for the region.  Situated just outside the museum’s front entrance, one of the most revolutionary aircraft ever built, the Lockheed F-104 “Starfighter,” now points majestically six stories straight up into the sky!Interior exhibits include displays on the life and career of Thomas P. Stafford, including some of the spacecrafts he took flight on. There is a display exhibiting some of the earliest aviation crafts, as well as a large display of modern planes and jets. The space exploration displays feature exhibits of rocket engines, several spacecrafts, space suits, control consoles, telescopes, and more. This museum is so interesting and educational, and the visitors typically love the learning experience.