Do you love the planes, people, and history of Northwest Airlines and its family of carriers as much as we do? Come be a part of the Northwest Airlines History Center family! We offer multiple ways for you to be a part of Northwest’s great legacy:
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS:
Your tax deductible monetary donations are the essential fuel that keeps the Northwest Airlines History Center in the air, helping fund the museum at the Crowne Plaza AiRE Hotel, as well as maintenance and cataloging of the archives at Flying Cloud Airport. Further out on our radar, these funds also help us perform the studies and community-building work needed to realize our dream of building and outfitting a permanent full-size museum in the Twin Cities.
DONATING OBJECTS AND ARTIFACTS:
Without a major-carrier benefactor, the NWAHC relies on contributions from former and current airline staff, families, and aviation enthusiasts to maintain and grow its collection. If you are interested in gifting us materials, please note:
- We can no longer accept unsolicited donations. Instead, please email us at info@northwestairlineshistory.org or leave a message at (952) 698-4478 with photos and descriptions of the items, your contact info, and anything you can tell us about the items’ significance – our collections manager will review your note and reply with instructions on how to get the materials to our archive location in Eden Prairie, MN.
- We cannot accept donation drop-offs at our Bloomington, MN museum location.
- There will be some minor paperwork – necessary for us to show that your materials have been correctly transferred, and also so that you can possibly claim a tax deduction. The information we will ask for can be found on this intake form that we complete. (The NWAHC and its staff are prohibited by law from assigning a monetary value to your donation, so please consult your tax preparer for guidance.)
- Surplus items beyond what we need for research, reference, and possible display may be transferred to other museums or sold to generate funds to maintain our operation.
BECOME A MEMBER:
Becoming a Northwest Airlines History Center member is like an upgrade to First Class for your History Center experience. All members receive:
- “REFLECTIONS” quarterly newsletter
- Invitations to all NWAHC-sponsored special events
- The pride of helping keep alive the history of Northwest Airlines for others
Annual membership is $35 (which includes the newsletter in print form by mail), or $30 (which includes the newsletter via e-mail). Your membership date is based on your initial member subscription date, with renewals payable every 12 months. You can even set your membership to automatically renew, if you wish. All membership options can be found via this link.
VOLUNTEER:
Whether you’re a retiree, worker, or student, we have projects and flexibility to fit your schedule, expertise, and enthusiasm. You don’t even need to have worked for an airline – if you love history, adventure, and storytelling, you’re already one of us! We’re looking for folks to help us with:
- Greeting and guiding our museum guests
- Designing and building museum exhibits
- Grant application and fundraising
- Community outreach & event planning
- Photography and video production
- Scanning and indexing historic documents and photos
- Online advertising and social media
- Maintaining and updating our online store, and our point-of-sale terminal
Our most pressing need is for museum staff to help us consistently cover Thursday, Friday, and Saturday schedules. Shifts are only 4 hours and we always schedule at least two people on a shift – even if you can come just one day per week, we are happy to welcome you on board!
To join the team, please email us at info@northwestairlineshistory.org or leave us a voicemail on (952) 698-4478 with your contact information and how you would like to help. Even easier, we have a web-form you can fill in at this link.
