Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center — Local services in Idaho

My family and I spent half the day at the Bird Aviation Museum and thoroughly enjoyed our visit while just briefly overviewing all of the exhibits there. There's so much to see! There's vintage aircraft (all in working order) World War II memorabilia, and of course all manner of inventions, both Dr. Bird's, and others'. I don't know where else I might find an Apple II signed by Steve Wosniak, a Gibson guitar signed by Les Paul, or exhibits of patents from the 1800s to present. All were presented by knowledgeable docents. We were pleasantly surprised to see "Doc" (Dr. Forrest M. Bird) greeting visitors and got to speak with him! All of the exhibits were first class. There's a gift shop with a wide variety of things for purchase, and the cafeteria smelled incredible! I'm sorry that we missed partaking there! This is the kind of museum that we've been looking for, both for ourselves and to have on our list of "must see" places to take folks that visit so that we can proudly show off our new home. We'll be back to spend more time to more fully review...

A fascinating figure tied to North Idaho is the inventor and aviator Forrest Bird (1921-2015) who lived not far away in Sagle.

A technical training officer in WWII, Bird embarked on a career inventing respirators and ventilators for the medical industry after finding a German oxygen regulator in the war and working out how to make it more functional.

The Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center is in a hangar at Coeur d’Alene Airport and has a rotating fleet of aircraft from before WWI to the present day.

To name a few there’s a 1947 Republic RC-7 “Sea Bee”, a North American AT-6 similar to the one Forrest flew in his WWII days and a 1927 WACO model GXE-10, like the one in which he made his first solo flight at the age of just 14.

These aircraft are accompanied by exhibits about Bird’s medical inventions, as well as famous innovations in general, like Ruth Handler’s Barbie and the Mac II, mostly by...

A 'hidden gem' of the Idaho Panhandle! 🛩️

You must visit The Bird Aviation & Respiratory Museum at The Pappy Boyington Air Field in Hayden, ID.

Use GPS to access the museum as it's tucked away on the airport's property and is tricky to find.

Not only does this have Dr. Forrest Bird's world-renowned respirators, but his: planes; other inventors inventions; his wife's aviation history; Model A & T; vintage WWII memorabilia: A NASA section, an Amilia Earhart and many other EXTREMELY interesting exhibits.

Very family friendly. 👍

There is so much to take in--either spend several hours, revisit it again at another date or take pics of the placards and blow them up and read them on your phone. 🤔😉

They take donations for visiting the museum and have complimentary, cookies and treats for...