National Balloon Museum, Inc

09/02/2026

The National Balloon Museum and Gift Shop are taking a short, end of summer break.🌞

We’ll be closed from September 4-11 and will reopen on September 12.

Have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day Holiday, we can’t wait to see you when we return!

08/29/2026

Happy Birthday to Board Member Denny Anderson!

Today, we’re celebrating Denny, the longest-serving board member at the National Balloon Museum, who currently serves as our Vice President.

Denny brings a wealth of experience to the board through his years as a business owner and balloon pilot. His knowledge, perspective, and institutional knowledge have been appreciated, especially through the many years of change and growth at the museum.

Thank you, Denny, for your years of dedication, your continued support, and everything you’ve done to help make the National Balloon Museum what it is today.

Happy Birthday, Denny! We hope you have a fantastic day! 🎂🎈

08/28/2026

If you missed our reopening celebration in early August, join the BFA podcast on Tuesday, September 1 at 6:30 pm for details and pictures!

🎙️ Join us for Inside the BFA Episode #14 featuring Kendra Minks, Operations Manager of the National Balloon Museum.

Kendra will take us inside the museum’s reopening, the newly renovated Big Sky Hall, its new ballooning exhibits, the restoration work still underway, and the museum’s vision for preserving hot-air and gas-ballooning history for future generations!

🗓️ Tuesday, September 1st
⏰ 6:30 PM CT
📺 Live on YouTube and streaming on Facebook
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjKwbRztUPY
🔗 https://www.facebook.com/share/1VSaEAnzzb/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Don’t miss this special edition of Inside the BFA—the official podcast of the Balloon Federation of America.

08/28/2026

Thank you for the partnership, Kubicek Balloons!

08/16/2026

Come visit me today at the Iowa State Fair at the Travel Iowa booth. We are located in the Varied Industries building until 2:30.

08/13/2026

These two right here are just amazing.

Last September, when I first published a workday at the museum and artifacts were being returned, boxes were getting unloaded and everything was in various stages of being sorted, this gentleman signed up to help. I didn’t recognize his name, but I quickly learned that he flew in from South Carolina just for this work day. He’s a Balloon Federation of America member, former balloon pilot and launch director, and still has his heart firmly in hot air ballooning.

He showed up to help, not knowing anything other than that I needed it. And he jumped right in.

Fast forward to last month. Mike messaged me that he and his wife, Terri, would be coming through Indianola on their way home from their summer vacation and wanted to know if I needed help at the museum. Knowing they would be coming through after Classic, I said, “Sure! There’s always something to do!” 😂

So Mike and Terri showed up Wednesday morning and spent two days doing anything and everything. Cleaning up after a hectic week, organizing, hanging things, being impromptu tour guides, greeting guests…you name it, they were there to help.

I wish they lived closer because they are exactly the kind of help I need! But more than anything, I’m grateful that they chose to spend part of their vacation helping us at the museum.

We have been incredibly fortunate to have so many wonderful volunteers step up and help us rebuild, reopen and move the museum forward. Every volunteer has played a part in getting us to where we are today, and we truly couldn’t have done it without you.

Mike and Terri, thank you for coming back and giving us two more days of your time. It means more than you know.

I’m already looking forward to your next trip to Indianola!

08/12/2026

If you haven’t had a chance to visit us yet, here is a great video highlighting the grand reopening at the beginning of August. Come see us! You’ll be so glad you did.

Open Wednesday through Sundays, 1-4 pm.

08/08/2026

The Museum gift shop will be open today, Saturday August 8, until 4:00 pm, and then we return to our regular hours on Wednesday, August 12 at 1:00 pm. Our regular hours will be 1:00-4:00 pm, Wednesday through Sunday.

Thank you for a fantastic week! I am overwhelmed at the support we have received. The momentum continues, so keep a watch here for Phase 2 updates!