How Amelia Earhart’s Kansas Childhood Shaped a World-Famous Pilot
You’ve likely read the name Amelia Earhart in your history books. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She also tried to fly around the world, but she never returned. What happened to her is one of America’s greatest mysteries. She wasn’t always a famous pilot, though. She was once a kid who loved adventure.
Before She Flew
In 1897, Amelia was born in Atchison, where she spent most of her childhood living with her grandparents and little sister, Muriel. During that time, Amelia loved climbing trees, jumping over fences and sledding down snowy hills at high speeds. One of her favorite games was playing make-believe with Muriel and her cousins in her grandparents’ barn.
When she was 7, Amelia went to the World’s Fair in St. Louis and saw a huge rollercoaster. She was so excited that she decided to build her own. With help, she made a wooden track and a cart. She greased the tracks with lard, then dragged the cart up the ramp to start her first run. She crashed, but she didn’t give up. She fixed the problems and tried again. Her second run was a success, and Amelia said it felt “just like flying.”
Love at First Sight?
Amelia first saw an airplane when she was 10 years old. She wasn’t impressed. Back then airplanes were simple; Amelia said it looked like “rusty wire and wood.” But years later, when she was 23, she saw another plane up close. This time, she bought a ticket for a short flight that changed her life. The moment the plane lifted into the sky, she knew “I myself have to fly.”
Amelia worked hard to become a great pilot. She broke many records, like being the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean. But in 1937, she set out on what would be her final adventure: flying around the world. After flying an amazing 22,000 miles, her plane disappeared over the Pacific Ocean and was never found.
This daring little girl from Kansas didn’t just dream about adventure. She lived it.
A Clue from Space
People have wondered what happened to Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan. Did their plane run out of gas? Did they get stranded on a hidden island? Did they get abducted by aliens? It is one of history’s biggest mysteries.
One idea is that Amelia landed her plane, on a tiny, faraway island called Nikumaroro, in the western Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Australia and Hawaii. She was likely looking for a different island but had to land there before she ran out of fuel.
In 2020, someone looking at satellite pictures spotted a strange shape in the water near that island. After looking at the pictures very closely, scientists thought it was about the same size and shape as Amelia’s lost plane. When scientists looked at older pictures of the water around the island, they saw the same object sitting in the same spot. Could it be the remains of Amelia’s lost plane?
It seems like solving this mystery would be as easy as taking a boat to the island—but the Pacific Ocean unpredictable, and the island is far from land. Also, researchers need permission from the island’s government before they can explore. All of this means that researchers need a lot of money and time to plan.
A team from Purdue University and other groups planned an expedition for November 2025. But because of bad weather and permit delays, the trip was moved to 2026. Only time will tell if they can find answers.
HANDS-ON HISTORY
Take a closer look at all things Amelia Earhart at the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum in Atchison. This museum is home to Muriel, a plane identical to the Lockheed Electra 10-E that Earhart piloted on her final flight. At the museum, visitors can also take a virtual flight as Amelia during her 1932 transatlantic flight. While you’re there, be sure to crawl into a replica of one of Amelia’s cockpits, read stories and flip through pictures of Amelia’s life, and take part in one of the museum’s many interactive STEM stations.
ameliaearharthangarmuseum.org
