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Winter 2016
Strategic
Air &
Space
Museum
Visitors can “Fly
Through History” at
one of the top tourist
sites in Nebraska
Visitors can take a close look at about 40 aircraft and
spacecraft that span 70 years of aviation history, mostly
from the Cold War era. The Strategic Air & Space Museum
includes two indoor exhibition hangars, an indoor restora-
tion hangar, museum store, curatorial offices and storage,
atrium, two education classrooms, a science demonstra-
tion room, theater with seating for 180, conference room,
library, restaurant and administration offices.
The Museum features a children’s science zone and is
committed to the development of STEM (Science, Technol-
ogy, Engineering and Math) educational programs. It’s a
recognized leader in informal out-of-the-classroom STEM
education for the region.
The Need for Speed
Given the many online activities of visitors and
employees, the Museum needs fast, reliable Internet
service. Unfortunately, the previous communications
provider failed to deliver.
Deb Hermann, Director of Marketing & Public Rela-
tions, notes, “We only had 6 Mbps speed throughout
the Strategic Air & Space Museum, which did not
accommodate large events or rentals when many mobile
devices were in use. Connectivity issues also caused
problems with our cash registers in admissions and the
museum store when we needed to execute credit card
transactions, and our employees would often experi-
ence slow speeds which reduced their productivity.”
To find a communications provider able to meet the
Museum’s Internet requirements, the Museum initi-
ated an RFP (Request for Proposal) process. Great
Plains Communications won this RFP due to factors
including quality, customer service and price.
Jeff Mason, Network Account Manager for Great
Plains Communications, says, “We welcomed the
Strategic Air & Space Museum as a new customer in
July 2015. Great Plains Communications now provides
The Strategic Air & Space Museum is a 330,000-square-foot facility near Exit 426 on Inter-
state 80 next to Mahoney State Park, approximately midway between Lincoln and Omaha. A
Smithsonian Affiliate, the Museum welcomes over 110,000 visitors annually and is considered
one of the premier air and space museums in the United States. Its mission: “To ignite the
thrill of innovation and discovery through the ultimate guest experience.”
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