Launch of a new exhibition on Canadian aviation at the Stouffville Museum

The Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum and Community Center presents the traveling exhibit “Ace Academy: Flight Experience,” produced by the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. This exhibit highlights individual local pilots through the display of artifacts from the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum, the Pickering Museum Village and a private loan.

“We are thrilled to bring this interactive exhibit to Stouffville,” said Krista Rauchenstein, Curator and Supervisor of the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum and Community Center. “Not only does it highlight aviation technology in an interactive way, but it also provides a backdrop to display the aviation and military history of our community.”

“Ace Academy” is a digital interactive exhibition space where players enter an immersive environment and activate the intuitive experience by simply moving their body. Authentic aerial imagery takes center stage as players fly a realistic rendering of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum’s Sopwith Ship Camel biplane. By moving their arms up and down and tilting their bodies, players maneuver an on-screen plane, dodging enemy planes and lining up fire.

The flight experience is based on “Ace Academy”, an educational game produced by the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in partnership with SEED Interactive. The game features other aircraft from the museum’s extensive WWI collection while guiding players through levels that explain how aircraft fly. “Ace Academy” and its sequel “Ace Academy: Black Flight” are available for free on the App Store and Google Play. These games complement the exhibit, extending player engagement and learning beyond the flight experience.

“Just as aviation technology influenced the development of this field more than a century ago, today’s digital technology affects how museums interact with their audiences,” said Christina Tessier, President and CEO of Ingenium — Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation. “We are taking a number of strategic steps at our museums to expand our national and international reach by taking advantage of exciting new technologies and expanding their use to include traveling exhibits.”

“Ace Academy” opened at the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum in May and will run until November 26.

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