THUNDER BAY – Residents will have the chance to view an aviation exhibit put together by Ingenium and NAV Canada during the next few months.
The Eyes on the Skies exhibit will be at the Thunder Bay Museum from Oct. 26 to Jan. 26, 2025.
Scott Bradley, executive director of Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, said Eyes on the Skies is on loan to the museum from Ingenium out of Ottawa.
“It's all about air traffic control and how do we manage aircraft through Canada's airspace which we're excited to host here at the museum, and happy to have the opportunity,” he said.
Bradley said Thunder Bay is thought of as a resource and transshipment town.
“Thunder Bay is also an aviation town, we're one of the busiest airports in Canada. We've got all kinds of fire suppression happening here. We've got cargo flights; we've got flights out to the mines. We've got civil aviation; we've got commercial aviation. We've got people maintaining the hydro lines from our airport.
“There's a lot of aviation happening here and it's really interesting to explore the history of how we manage that airspace around Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario,” he said.
The exhibit also includes interactive aspects.
“Visitors, kids and adults, will be able to come and they'll be able to use the interactives with this exhibit. They'll walk away with a better understanding of an air traffic controller and those radar maintainers and everyone else involved in those electronic systems and communication systems that makes keeping us safe and our sky safe,” he said.
Bradley is excited to have this exhibit and hopes for many people come out to take a look at it.
He added that he has a few favourite things about the exhibit.
“I think it's understanding the cadence and the timing of operations that the air traffic controllers have to go through in the tower to make sure that aircraft are moving," he said. “That's pretty fascinating to me that they have to keep track of everybody using their computer systems. But also, that voice communication is just absolutely critical to making sure that everyone understands where everyone is and where they're supposed to be and where they're going."
For more information, visit the Thunder Bay Museum website.
