USS Midway CVIC Restoration Project Update: December 2024

The USS Midway CVIC restoration project continues full steam ahead. All the engineering work on the spaces is complete, and the exhibit team is putting the finishing touches on paint, tile, and lighting. In January 2025, the exhibit builders from Art Processors will commence installation of the exhibit itself.

This past October and November, the Midway exhibit team and volunteers sorted through all the artifact donations and took measurements for the “discover” cabinets. Each room will have safes, desks, or cabinets with interactive doors.  A visitor will be able to open a cabinet to find artifacts like plotters, charts, whiz wheel, or slide rule, which will be illuminated and described. The three main exhibit areas collectively will provide an escape room experience in which visitors can answer questions, put together a mosaic, or build a target package for a notional strike. Volunteers with intelligence and aviation experience have also been recording oral history stories with the design team at Capricorn Studios in downtown San Diego for use in the exhibit.    

The exhibit is still on track for a late May 2025 opening.

Entry Way: All painted, tile is getting prepped (gray stuff evens out the deck)

Exhibit Area 1: Description of intelligence-related rates (IS, CT, etc.) and what each field does. Start of the escape room-like process: visitors answer the questions and go to the next room.

Exhibit area 2: This is the Mission Planning area where visitors will be asked to pick out five aspects of their strike mission. Notice the big knee knocker is gone and the entire room is open for freedom of movement. The tables will be in the center. Along the walls will be “discovery” cabinets that can be opened to reveal artifacts such as plotters, slide rulers, whiz wheels, etc.

Exhibit area 3: This is the Strike Planning area. The displays at the tables will discuss briefing and debriefing. The deck is covered with plastic to protect the new “blue” tile area. More “discovery” cabinets are in this area as well.

This area is dedicated to Mark Luoma.

SEND US YOUR INTEL-RELATED PATCHES!!

The USS Midway CVIC Restoration Project is looking for intel-specific patches that can be included as part of the display. 

An actual patch would be ideal, but a high-resolution photo will work as well. The Museum will return the patches after they are used or, if you give your permission, they can be included in the display.  

Please mail any patches to: USS MIDWAY MUSEUM, C/O TERRY KRAFT, 910 N. HARBOR DR, SAN DIEGO, CA 92101. 

If you prefer to send a high-resolution photo of your patch instead, please email them to Diana Guglielmo at diana.guglielmo@ussmidwaydocents.org.