Founded in 1963 on board Pensacola’s naval base, the National Naval Aviation Museum (NNAM) tells the story of how naval aviation has been at the cutting edge of aerospace history for more than a century. Today, with more than 350,000-square-feet of displays, NNAM has grown to become the second-largest aviation museum in the United States. Featuring more than 150 fully-restored military aircraft, thousands of artifacts and dozens of military exhibits on display, plus a giant screen movie theater, an Apollo 11 moon landing virtual reality simulator, a Blue Angels 4D interactive ride, flight simulators, cockpit trainers and a virtual flight deck — NNAM had become one of the top 10 attractions in Florida and was considered the leading tourist attraction between Orlando and New Orleans. Its visitors came from every state in the U.S., with more than 70 percent visiting from outside Florida. Until 2019.

Following a terrorist attack on base in December of 2019 involving a non-U.S. citizen, access to the National Naval Aviation Museum has been restricted to only Department of Defense (DoD) ID cardholders and veterans who possess a Veterans Health Identification Card. For more than two-and-a-half years, public citizens are still being denied entry to a National Museum whose operations are paid for, in large part, by their hard-earned tax dollars. Millions of American citizens are being denied access to marvel at our nation’s rich Naval aviation and aerospace feats. The museum’s visitorship has declined by 64% due to the restricted base access. That equates to approximately 342 total jobs and $11 million in labor income lost.

 

The OpenOurMuseum.org community campaign hopes to change that. To help spread the word and get the Pensacola community involved – EW Bullock worked to create a website, an online petition, television ads, billboards, radio ads, sample template letters to state senators, press releases, viewpoints from respected community members, editorial pieces and a proclamation.

 

Here are a few examples:

Social Media ads:

 

 

Television:

 

 

 

Visits to the Pensacola base’s historic attractions have always been treasured by tourists and locals alike before access became locked off. Tens of millions of citizens have visited the National Naval Aviation Museum, and other base attractions, for decades without the occurrence of a single significant security incident. If you haven’t already signed the petition or shared the website, we encourage you to do so by clicking here.