Let Your Imagination Take Flight at Dallas Love Field

By Mario Tarradell, Public Relations & Marketing Manager

You know what happens at an airport: People arrive with luggage, get their tickets, go through security, then hop on a plane for some cool destination. Maybe it’s a vacation. Maybe it’s a business trip. Maybe it’s moving to a new city. The airport gets you there.

But do you really know what happens at an airport?

Here’s your chance to learn. Dallas City of Learning, a public-private citywide initiative convened by the City of Dallas and Dallas ISD and managed by Big Thought, invites kids and teens to Dallas Love Field Saturday, July 23, from 10 am to 2 pm for an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at an airport that serves as a transportation hub for 7 million people a year.

The third annual Dallas City of Learning Turn Up! event at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, 6911 Lemmon Ave in Dallas, gives kids and parents a cockpit view of the airport, including terminal tours and an up-close peek at an airport fire truck. More than 500 kids and teens are expected. Add in families and guests and we should have a bustling 1,500 people in attendance.

So what’s the plan for the day? Here’s the detailed list:

  • Touring the new terminal at Dallas Love Field
  • Sampling food from the concessionaires that serve airport passengers
  • Checking out the largest snow removal trucks
  • Discovering airport equipment and machines that keep Love Field running
  • Learning more about the people who keep the airport and runways open
  • Checking out an operating Airport Rescue Fire-Fighter Truck (ARFF)
  • Experimenting with wind tubes
  • Viewing a living history performance of prominent people in aviation history
  • Creating foam plate gliders
  • Exploring a Frontier Flyer airplane and other open cockpits

But there’s still more. The super cool Dallas City of Learning Mobile Tech XPerience, a retrofitted RV complete with laptops, 3D printers, Lego sumo wrestlers and more, will be parked outside for kids to enjoy. We’ll have ongoing musical entertainment onstage, food trucks, exhibitors, Dallas City of Learning registration, and plenty of fun swag.

“The Frontiers of Flight Turn Up! at Dallas Love Field is always our most anticipated Dallas City of Learning event,” says Erin Offord, Big Thought’s Senior Director of Programs and Partner Relations. “And with good reason. This collaboration provides such an incredible opportunity for kids to learn about the inner workings of an airport, just as it introduces them to a variety of career possibilities in the world of aviation.”

Big Thought thanks the entire staff of the Frontiers of Flight Museum and Dallas Love Field for their wonderful support and cooperation. We also extend gratitude to our many Dallas City of Learning donors. For a complete list of donors, please visit bigthought.org/dallascityoflearning.