Museum’s Aviation Education Center gets a boost from Consumers Energy grant

HARRISON TWP.

Students enjoy a visit to Selfridge Air Military Museum, which has been awarded a $2,500 grant from Consumers Energy Foundation that will help to support its STEAM programs at the museum’s Aviation Education Center. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SELFRIDGE MILITARY AIR MUSEUM

Selfridge Military Air Museum Executive Director Steven Mrozek talks to a group of students visiting the museum.

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By Gina Joseph

gjoseph@medianewsgroup.com

Students who are interested in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) enjoy visiting Selfridge Military Air Museum and the volunteers who show them around love it when they do.

“The field of aviation is well suited for the study of STEAM objectives,” Selfridge Military Air Museum Executive Director Steven Mrozek said, in a news release announcing that the museum has received $2,500 from the Consumer Energy Foundation.

The grant presented on behalf of Consumers Energy’’s Veteran’s Advisory Panel business employee resource group will help to support the programs offered by the museum’s new Aviation Education Center.

“Ensuring Michigan’s students have access to the opportunities and programs that can educate and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow is critical not only to the future success of our state, but to their development as people” said Cathy Wilson, secretary/treasurer of the Consumers Energy Foundation. “We’re proud to provide this grant to support the Selfridge program and look forward to seeing how it benefits kids across the state.”

The Consumer Energy Foundation grant follows a $25,000 Ralph C. Wilson Trustee Program Grant that was given to the museum that sits on the grounds of Selfridge Air National Guard base in Harrison Township over the summer.

The remarkable 106-year-history of the base and the museum’s collection of military aircraft, artifacts and interactive activities provide a wonderful background to its educational programming. The Consumers Energy Foundation is the charitable arm of Consumers Energy. The Foundation contributes to the growth and strengthening of Michigan communities. In 2023, the Consumers Energy Foundation, Consumers Energy, its employees and retirees contributed over $11 million to Michigan nonprofits.

“Our focus will be primarily on aeronautical engineering and aviation technology and introducing students to the science of flight,” said Mrozek, a U.S. Army Veteran from Fraser and former national historian for the 82nd Airborne Division Association, whose military experience and passion for history adds to the experience students get during their visits to the museum.

In fact, that’s the beauty of the program, all of the volunteers have a connection to museum’s history and a story to tell.