You’re surrounded by a work of art
The towering impact of the World’s Largest Indoor Mural™. The expansive deck of the USS Kittyhawk. The sweeping panorama of the pre-Wright brothers era of flight. Take a look around the Air Zoo, and you’ll soon notice that everything, including our artwork, is done on a grand scale.
“Century of Flight” Mural | “Flights of Fancy” Mural | Floor Mural
“Century of Flight” Mural
Our 800' x 32' mural holds the Guinness World Record® as the world’s largest indoor mural. Created by renowned flight artist Rick Herter and his assistant Tony Hendrick, the lifelike mural took more than 14 months to complete.
This extraordinary work of art traces aviation history from the first hot-air balloon launch by France’s Montgolfier Brothers to modern space flight. In addition to making history as a Guinness record holder, the mural continues to make lasting impressions every day on Air Zoo visitors.
Mural Statistics:
Size: 28,800 square feet - Comparable to three football fields.
Time to complete: 14 months
Paint: 400 gallons of oil paint
Number of brushes: More than 200; ranging from 1/4" artists brushes to 6" rollers.
“Flights of Fancy” Mural
Images from Greek and Egyptian mythology, Da Vinci’s Ornithopter, various dirigibles, space ships and oddities. What do all these have in common? They can all be found in the “Flights of Fancy” mural, located in the Air Zoo’s Kids Korner.
This mural is the work of Kalamazoo artist Sy Ellens. He is a well-known and respected artist whose work can be found in private and corporate collections in many states throughout the U.S., as well as many countries around the world.
The mural was created to help inspire children’s own creative juices. Mr. Ellens’ wish is that the mural also provides a source for learning “something about other cultures, their thoughts, ideas and dreams.”
Mural Statistics:
Size: 2,100 square feet
Time to complete: 12 weeks @ 60 hours per week
Paint: Roughly five gallons worth of small tubes of oil paint
Number of brushes: Nine of varying sizes
Floor Mural
Imagine a place where you can walk through the flower-laden fields of France, the dusty fields of a World War II airbase, stroll along the deck of the USS Kittyhawk and cap off your jaunt with a walk in space. Our one-of-a-kind floor mural lets you do just that.
The mural, created to mimic each of the “zones” in the attraction, was painted by Kalamazoo artist Sy Ellens on 40, 45" x 45" masonite boards that were transferred to prints.
The mural was then taken to Agio Imaging, where it was digitally photographed, blown up 1000% and printed onto 12.5-square-foot sections of vinyl.
The vinyl sections were then assembled onto the floor like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and covered with several coats of epoxy. The result is a 36,000-square-foot piece of art you can actually walk on.
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