Courtesy photo Aviation Museum of New Hampshire volunteer Wendell Berthelsen of Methuen, Massachusetts. assembles the entrance gate to the "Festival of Planes," a holiday exhibit of more than 2,500 aviation toys and model aircraft that opens Saturday at the museum in Londonderry.(Courtesy photo)

LONDONDERRY – With more than 2,500 vintage aviation toys and model aircraft on display, the Aviation Museum of N.H.’s special holiday exhibit is “designed to make your imagination take flight.”

That’s the goal, according to museum executive director Jeff Rapsis, that museum staff and its many volunteers had in mind as they prepared for the unveiling of the exhibit.

While the exhibit opened over the weekend, it will reopen on Saturday, Dec. 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will be open each day throughout the holiday vacation week: Sunday, Dec. 27, 1-7 p.m.; and Monday-Wednesday, Dec. 28-30, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The museum will resume its regular hours in January, but will stay open until 7 p.m. “to give families a chance to see the exhibit in the evening,” Rapsis said.

The exhibit will be on display through the end of January.

Courtesy photo Aivation Museum of N.H. volunteers Chuck Poltack, left, of Merrimack, and Larry Roberts of Londonderry, make some final adjustments to the "Wall of Planes" exhibit, part of the museum's "Festival of Planes" holiday exhibit that will be open during holiday vacation weeks. (Courtesy photo)

Admission is $10 per person; $5 for age 65-plus, veterans and active military, and students under age 13. Free for museum members and children under age 5. All proceeds go to the non-profit museum.

The museum is located on the grounds of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, at 27 Navigator Road, Londonderry. For directions or more information, go to www.aviationmuseumofnh.org or call 669-4820.

The exhibit, meanwhile, was “reimagined” in order to comply with COVID-19 safety guidelines, Rapsis said, adding that it is set up as a “walk-through” event with no hands-on displays.

More public space has been created to enable social-distancing, and capacity is limited to 24 people at a time. Visitors must follow the one-way “walk-through” path, and face-coverings are required of everyone.

On display, meanwhile, will be a wide assortment of aviation-themed toys, models, puzzles, and promotional items from throughout the 20th century, from the Wright Brothers to such sci-fi favorites as Star Trek and Star Wars.

Courtesy photo Some of the more than 2,500 aviation-related toys and model aircraft that will be on display at the Aviation Museum of N.H. special holiday exhibit, which will be open during holiday vacation weeks. (Courtesy photo)

Also on display will be vintage aircraft piloted by celebrities including Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Elmo, and Barbie.

New this year is a section of the exhibit called “Wall of Planes,” which features several hundred collectible model aircraft displayed on a 50-foot-long wall inside the museum’s Slusser Aviation Learning Center.

The exhibit incorporates items from the museum’s archives, along with items from several other collections, including toys and model aircraft that provide a timeline of aviation history.

Many of the toys and model aircraft on display are on loan from the collection of Top Fun Aviation Toy Museum in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Items donated to the museum in 2019 from Howard Becker of Goffstown and Mauro Scali of Londonderry will also be on display.

“For more than a century, children have been finding toy planes and model aircraft among their holiday gifts,” Rapsis said. “No matter what decade you grew up in, our “Festival of Planes” exhibit will help you rediscover playthings that first acquainted you with the magic of flight.”

Courtesy image An overall view shows the progress members and volunteers have made in preparation for the Aviation Museum of N.H.'s special holiday season exhibit. (Courtesy image)

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

Courtesy photo Volunteer Wendell Berthelsen of Methuen, Massachusetts adjusts lighting for the "Wall of Planes," part of the Aviation Museum of N.H.'s "Festival of Planes" holiday exhibit. (Courtesy photo)

Courtesy photo Aviation Museum of N.H. volunteer Ken Copeland of Manchester arranges a model aircraft display for the museum's holiday exhibit "Festival of Planes," which opened this weekend and will reopen during the holiday vacation weeks. (Courtesy photo)