The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History has a new exhibit spotlighting Fort Worth's long-standing history with aviation.

Called "Cowtown Takes Flight," it will serve as a tribute to the city's flight heritage, which dates back to aviation's early days when pilots performed aerial stunts in the city's fields.

The exhibit will debut on August 19.

According to a release, the exhibition will shed light on the social histories surrounding aviation's transformation in the Fort Worth area. That'll include the human stories behind the technological advancements and the impact aviation has had on the community.

The exhibit will feature a collection of photographs, artifacts, and hands-on learning, focusing on people from several eras, like a pilot, a servicemember, an industry-related individual, or a record setter. There will be artifacts from each era, both from the museum's collection and items on loan from other organizations and businesses.

That includes contributions from the Fort Worth Aviation Museum, who donated artifacts as well as knowledge, says executive director Jim Hodgson.

"We’ve worked with the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History on a couple of exhibits including 'An Unexpected Friendship: Jimmy Stewart’s Love for Fort Worth,' which is currently on display," Hodgson says. "On this exhibit, we helped with artifacts and research, helping to craft a storyline and filling in the blanks in terms of people and events that they didn’t have."

The exhibit also reflects the domain of The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History's interim director Orlando Carvalho, who was appointed in 2022. Carvalho is a former executive vice president of aeronautics at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Business and a former officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. (Regina Faden, Ph.D. is the Museum’s new President and begins her tenure this week.)

Fort Worth has been home to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (formerly Carswell Field) since 1942, and the adjacent Air Force Plant 4, which started manufacturing military aircraft the same year.

The plant is operated by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, which is supporting the exhibition, alongside the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation and Humanities Texas.

The city also hosted the AllianceTexas Aviation Expo, formerly known as the Bell Fort Worth Alliance Air Show, for 32 years before the annual event was canceled earlier this year.

"Aviation completely transformed this state from a farm-and-ranch culture to one of the leading aviation centers in the world," Hodgson says. "Most people aren't fully aware of its influence, because it started so long ago."

“Cowtown Takes Flight,” which does not have an announced end date, will be included with regular museum admission.