By RYAN SKAITH
The Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum has been nominated for the 2026 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Award in the Best History Museum category. This marks the third consecutive year the museum has received a nomination for the national honor.
Voting opened Monday, Jan. 12 and will continue through Feb. 9. Supporters are permitted to vote once daily via the 10Best website. The museum is among 20 nominees selected by a panel of travel experts, with the final winners determined by public vote.
Mindi Love Pendergraft, the museum’s executive director, said the nomination serves as a testament to the institution’s global reach.
“We are thrilled to be nominated for the third consecutive year,” Pendergraft said. “This national recognition of our museum’s quality is invaluable and attracts visitors from all over the world.”
Pendergraft noted that the museum has welcomed guests from all 50 U.S. states and 37 countries, citing the enduring mystery and legacy of the legendary aviator as a primary draw for tourism.
The museum utilizes a blend of interactive storytelling and STEM-based learning to chronicle the life of Earhart. A trailblazer in aviation, Earhart was the first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean. Throughout her career, she used her platform to advocate for gender equality and the advancement of the aviation industry.
The centerpiece of the collection is “Muriel,” the world’s last remaining Lockheed Electra 10-E. The aircraft is identical to the one Earhart flew during her final flight and is one of only 14 ever built. It was named in honor of Earhart’s younger sister, Grace Muriel Earhart Morrissey.
Earhart disappeared in July 1937 while attempting to circumnavigate the globe along the equator. She vanished over the Pacific Ocean near Howland Island with only three stops remaining in her 29,000-mile journey. Nearly a century later, the disappearance remains one of the world’s greatest unsolved mysteries.
