Indianapolis International Airport to host exhibit featuring Hoosier athletes, inventors, and business leaders

The Indiana Humanities ‘‘Spirit of Competition’’ exhibit contains a variety of engaging interactives, films, and stories about unknown and well-known Hoosiers

INDIANAPOLIS ,2012-07-27 — /travelprnews.com/ — Just in time for some highly competitive events that are coming to town, such as the Brickyard 400 and the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, visitors to the Indianapolis International Airport (IND) will have an opportunity to engage with a new Indiana Humanities “Spirit of Competition” exhibit.

From July 27 – Aug. 23, guests at IND can build John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, engage in a debate, pose as a mascot, learn about items invented in Indiana and where Indiana ranks in the world on a variety of topics, and hop on a bicycle to try and match Major Taylor’s track speed.

The exhibit also includes short films on Hoosier competition-related stories, such as:

 Marshall “Major” Taylor, a world-champion cyclist
 Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the television
 Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, the classic rivalry
 Gebisa Ejeta, a World Food Prize winner and Purdue University professor
 Madam C.J. Walker, the first African American millionaire
 New Harmony, Indiana, a town that experimented with communal living
 Jeanette Lee, a.k.a. “The Black Widow” on the professional billiards circuit

“We all engage in competition every day – whether it’s by participating in an extracurricular activity, selling a product, creating an innovative solution or trying to beat  an opponent on the campaign trail,” said Keira Amstutz, president and CEO of Indiana  Humanities. “This exhibit teaches us that competition affects us all and contributes to our  individual character, as well as the culture of our local communities and our state.”

The exhibit will be on display in Civic Plaza, a public area open to both passengers and non-ticketed visitors. A destination in its own right, Civic Plaza features shopping, dining, and special entertainment events, with artwork and attractions that reflect the character and diversity of Indianapolis and the region. It also serves as the heart of the airport terminal; more than 20,000 passengers per day pass through it to and from the airport’s concourses.

About Spirit of Competition
Following the award-winning Food for Thought program, Indiana Humanities has launched Spirit of Competition, a two-year set of programs designed to help Hoosiers think, read and talk about the role competition plays in our daily lives. Together, we will examine competition through five core elements – civility, rivalry, passion, innovation and failure – and discuss questions like:

 How much do we shape competition, and how much does competition shape us?
 Are Hoosiers uniquely competitive?
 How can a better understanding of our history, our community and ourselves make
Indiana more competitive on the global stage?
 What is the true spirit of competition?

About Indiana Humanities
Indiana Humanities connects people, opens minds and enriches lives by creating and facilitating programs that encourage Hoosiers to think, read and talk. Learn more at www.indianahumanities.org.

About the Indianapolis Airport Authority
The Indianapolis Airport Authority owns and operates Indiana’s largest airport system. In addition to Indianapolis International Airport, its facilities include the Downtown Heliport, Eagle Creek Airpark, Hendricks County Airport, Indianapolis Regional Airport, and Metropolitan Airport. IND has received several prestigious awards recognizing it as a leader within its class, including annual Airport Service Quality awards for performance excellence by Airports Council International. IND is the first airport in the U.S. to win LEED® certification for an entire terminal campus, and the airport has won recognition for excellent customer service, concessions programs, and art and architecture. IND’s economic impact in Central Indiana is more than $3.3 billion annually, and about 10,000 people work at the airport each day. IND serves more than 7 million business and leisure travelers each year and averages 135 daily nonstop flights to 34 destinations. Home of the world’s second-largest FedEx Express operation and the nation’s eighth-largest cargo facility, IND is committed to becoming the airport system of choice for both passenger and cargo service. For more information, visit IND’s Facebook page at Indianapolis International Airport and Twitter page at @INDairport.

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