Theater Restoration Campaign
History is not limited to recollections of the past. It is a reality we can touch in the present. We need to engage with history to find our own connections and relevancy to a broader timeline and world. We look to the past to make a better world for today. Many wonderful opportunities abound for passive engagement with history, but far fewer exist to do so actively.
Here at the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum we offer a deep dive into an immersive historic experience. Our mission is to utilize USS Hornet and its collections, exhibitions, and educational programming to promote awareness and understanding of history, science, technology, and service. From the mighty ship herself, to the rest of our artifact collection, to our veteran docents, we proudly tell the stories of heroes who served our country in times of war and peace. Visitors can walk in their footsteps and pass through the spaces where they lived and worked.
The Ship’s Theater is one such space that provided the crew with a break from the routine of life at sea, showing everything from training films to the latest news and entertainment from Hollywood. The Museum is raising $50,000 – $100,000 to cover the costs of restoring the ship’s theater to its original appearance, while adding some modern touches for safety and performance. This project will transform the theater into a functional space to screen historical films (some recovered aboard the ship and recently digitized), serve as a classroom for our STEM and history education programs, and provide a venue for community presentations.
Funds exceeding theater restoration costs will go to Collections and Exhibitions to fund further film preservation and digitization work.
