COLUMBUS (WCMH) — The original 1929 Port Columbus air terminal and tower will be turning into the Ohio Air and Space Hall of Fame and Museum.

The recently established non-profit, Ohio Air & Space Hall of Fame and Museum, signed a long-term lease with the Columbus Regional Airport Authority to make this all possible. On Monday, the vision board was created for all central Ohioans to see.

As Ohio is widely recognized as “the Birthplace of Aviation,” the core mission of the non-profit is to preserve and publicly honor the remarkable legacies of the state’s outstanding air and space pioneers. The building will be used to honor people like the Wright Brothers, Rickenbacker, Armstrong, Glenn, and others.

“In 1964, Jerrie Mock became the first female to fly solo around the world,” said Ron Kaplan, executive director for the non-profit.  “Jerrie Mock did it in assessment 180…as our STEAM Education program, this will emphasize pre-GPS and pre-computers. It’s going to teach navigation and geography.”

Kaplan said providing an educational space for kids is one of the goals for this building.

“We are already at work on creating curriculum for students on what we call AV-STEAM,” he said.

AV-STEAM is a program that focuses on science, technology, engineering, aviation, and math. This part of the program will be held on their upper floor and the museum and hall of fame will be on the main floor.

However, Kaplan said the building itself can be used for other things too.

“It’s also designed to be served as an event space, so it’s rentable,” Kaplan said. “So, if someone wants to have a retirement dinner and a wedding, both the upstairs and the downstairs are rentable.”

Kaplan hopes to begin construction in the fall, but needs donations to match the grant of $550,000 the State of Ohio cornerstone has provided for them. The project itself is estimated to cost $2 million.

To learn more about the building in the works and how to donate, visit https://ohioairandspace.org/.