Annual competition, exhibition features student artwork Published March 26, 2013 By Sarah Swan National Museum of the U.S. Air Force DAYTON, Ohio -- Nearly 200 pieces of art created by local students from schools across the Miami Valley will be on display at the National Museum of the U.S Air Force during the 30th Annual Student Aviation Art Competition and Exhibition. The exhibit will be open from March 31 through May 11. Student artists from both private and public schools in Clark, Greene, Miami, Montgomery and Warren counties created artwork based on the theme "X-Planes," and there have been some amazing and professional-looking creations submitted to the museum's Education Division. Students were encouraged to research the experimental aircraft, and their teachers asked them to create works of art depicting actual X-Planes or those in their imaginations. According to Howard Walker, an aerospace educator at the museum, this provides a wonderful opportunity for students to artistically express the rich heritage of the Air Force and the importance of experimental aircraft over the years. Student artwork on display will be judged in seven grade-based categories: K-1, 2-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12 and special needs grades K-6 and 7-12. The exhibit may be viewed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily behind the SR-71 and B-2 aircraft in the museum's Cold War Gallery. The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Street, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day). Admission and parking are free. For more information about the museum, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil. NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, please contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at (937) 255-3286. NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information, please contact Sarah Swan at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Division at (937) 255-1283.