AirSpace will "Entertain, educate and inspire all those who visit.”© IWM

Next month the Imperial War Museum in Duxford is due to unveil its completed £25 million project after the first phase of the extension was opened in August 2006.

The ever-popular aviation museum has been developing a new hangar of large exhibits with a huge mezzanine gallery, as well as a main aircraft hall, which are now to incorporate a mixture of education and lecture facilities.

The finished ‘AirSpace’, opens officially on July 12 2007 and will cover 1.2 hectares enabling the museum to display around 30 British and Commonwealth aircraft, missiles and ground-handling equipment. The project has been developed thanks to support from organisations like BAE systems, the Heritage Lottery Fund and East of England Development Agency.

“Airspace is a dramatic and inspirational celebration of Britain’s aviation heritage, which will entertain, educate and inspire all those who visit,” said Richard Ashton, Director of IWM Duxford.

There will be a new hangar of large exhibits with a huge mezzanine gallery.© IWM

“The exhibition tells the story of British aircraft and aviation from the pioneers to the future, and clearly shows the impact of aviation on all our lives.”

Five main themes will be explored including 'Early aviation' with information about the development of the first aeroplane by the Wright brothers, and 'How do planes fly?’ a hands-on experience covering some of the aspects of aerodynamics.

Famous aircraft such as the Harrier, Spitfire and the iconic Concorde are included in the display. Concorde will be accessible for external and internal viewing, which is the closest you are going to get since the supersonic jet was grounded almost four years ago.

A strong educational stream allows famous planes such as the Vulcan and Spitfire to be explored via the professional Department for Learning educational programmes and a series of structured workshops.

The new centre has a wide and exceptional range of educational facilities.© IWM

Facilities include a learning centre (including purpose-built classrooms), two hundred seat lecture theatre and a corporate suite.

Interactive and hands-on displays are also aimed at trying to encourage young people to consider a career in aviation or aerodynamics and to look at aspects of engineering.

Part of the new display looks at aviation of the future and how we are planning to continue making breakthroughs in the field of aerospace, developing aircraft for our future transport needs.