FISHERS, Ind. (Aug. 4, 2009) Conner Prairie Interactive History Park, Indiana’s only Smithsonian affiliate, is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first successful air mail delivery with a special event, Aug. 15 & 16, 2009. To commemorate this historical anniversary, Conner Prairie will recreate the 1859 voyage of the balloon Jupiter, the U.S. Postal Service will offer a special pictorial postmark and a few items relating to early ballooning history will be on display from the Smithsonian Institution’s collection.
During the weekend celebration, guests will relive the day in 1859 when aviation pioneer professor John Wise took off from Lafayette, Ind., on his way to New York City with 123 pieces of U.S. mail. An official ceremony will mark the anniversary at 2 p.m. each day, with the ascension of Wise and a mailbag of letters in the Conner Prairie balloon (weather dependent). Children will have the opportunity to fill his mailbag with letters they have created just for the flight. The pilot will drop the mailbag by parachute, just as Wise did 150 years ago over Crawfordsville, Ind., when it was apparent the winds were taking him in the opposite direction of his destination.
On Saturday, Aug. 15 at 12 p.m., Conner Prairie will become an official post office station where guests can purchase a stamp and have their mail officially canceled with a special pictorial postmark. This commemorative item can be taken home as a souvenir keepsake or mailed from Conner Prairie. The pictorial cancellation will be available for collectors worldwide to request directly from the Fishers Post Office for 30 days at no charge. Postal workers will be at Conner Prairie from 12 – 3 p.m., Saturday.
To celebrate this momentous event, guests can also witness a high-altitude balloon launch at 3 p.m. on Saturday with Stratostar, an Ind. company who specializes in near-space satellite launches. After the launch, guests will be able to track the path of the balloon through a digital command center and talk to Stratostar about their vision for using balloons in a modern-day context.
Guests will also see a few items relating to early ballooning history on loan from the Smithsonian Institution’s collection, meet the Conner Prairie balloon pilots, learn the difference between a hot air balloon and Conner Prairie’s balloon, venture into Prairietown where the streets are abuzz with the arrival of the postman on horseback and see smoke balloon demonstrations. To top the day off, guests will have an opportunity to take a flight 350-feet in the air aboard the 1859 Balloon Voyage where they can see the world like Wise did 150 years ago.
“High School Musical’s” ‘Kelsi’ (Olesya Rulin) will help celebrate this historical event on Saturday, Aug. 15, with an autograph session (for the first 300 fans) and VIP balloon voyage sweepstakes. Entrants must be 14 years or younger and can enter to win at Indianapolis area BP am/pm stores, Conner Prairie or connerprairie.org. Full rules and a list of participating BP am/pm stores are available at connerprairie.org.
150th Anniversary of Air Mail event hours are Saturday, August 15, 10 am-5 pm and Sunday, August 16, 11 am-5 pm. A special buy one, get one free general admission coupon for this event can be found at connerprairie.org.
Conner Prairie interactive history park, created by Eli Lilly in 1934, is Indiana’s only Smithsonian affiliate. Families of today engage, explore and discover what it was like to live and play in Indiana’s past. Explore five themed historic areas on 200 beautiful, wooded acres including the newest exhibit, 1859 Balloon Voyage. This exhibit educates guests about Indiana’s aviation history and culminates with a voyage 350 feet above the prairie in a tethered helium balloon. Every visit is a unique adventure that provides an authentic look into the history that shapes us today. Admission to Conner Prairie is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, $8 for youth (ages 2-12) and free for members and children under 2. The balloon voyage fee is $15 for non-members and $12 for members. A $5 off coupon is available at BP am/pm convenience stores. For a list of participating stores or for more information about Conner Prairie visit www.connerprairie.org or call 317.776.6006 or 800.966.1836.
Media Contact: Angela Tuell, Public Relations Manager
(office) 317.214.4732, (cell) 410.430.9518, Tuell@connerprairie.org