WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. -- The New England Air Museum hosted their annual ‘Women Take Flight’ event on Saturday, March 7 at the museum, located near Bradley International Airport.
“The museum and I are very proud to offer this event to the public,” said Amanda Goodheart Parks, museum director of education.
The public event featured over 100 female pilots, engineers, service members and industry professionals in celebration of International Women’s Day.
One of those women was keynote speaker Cmdr. Rebecca Waddington, deputy chief at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Aviation Operations Center. As a NOAA Commissioned Corps Hurricane Hunter, Waddington flies G-IV twinjet high altitude research jets.
“We don’t want to be recognized for being female.” Waddington said. “We want to be recognized for being good pilots and for doing our job well.”
Museum staff led dozens of activities including hands-on STEM projects for children, launching mini rockets and engineering straw gliders and parachutes. There were close to 200 aviation enthusiasts in attendance. It was the museum’s biggest ‘Women Take Flight’ event yet.
International Women’s Day is designated as a day to celebrate the achievements of women worldwide and to bring awareness to the many obstacles that they continue to face.
(Information from a Journal Inquirer article was used in this story.)