By Mark Kolesar, EAA Lifetime 294238
The Flying Cloud Airport located in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, was the site of the 2025 Girls in Aviation Day on September 20, 2025. Three local EAA chapters’ members — South St. Paul Chapter 1229’s Bill Steier, Julie Steier, and Serena Townsend; Lakeville Chapter 25’s Kris Olson and Mark Kolesar; and Lake Elmo Chapter 54’s Vicky Moore — were on hand to promote the EAA Young Eagles and AeroEducate programs as well as the opportunities and benefits of joining a local EAA chapter near their homes. Girls in Aviation Day is hosted by the Stars of the North Chapter of Women in Aviation, with nearly 2,000 attending and 200 volunteers.
This free event is geared toward girls 8-17; however, they emphasize everyone is welcome. It was wonderful to see many families from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area as well as outstate Minnesota and western Wisconsin attend this event. Aviation enthusiasts of all ages, families, and scout troops came to explore the Aerospace Center and exhibit hall where STEM subjects came to life with hands-on applications. Guests also enjoyed interacting with a wide range of speakers, exhibitors, and companies, including representatives from engineering firms, universities, flight schools, airlines, business aviation, and the military.
Several EAA Ray Aviation Scholarship participants and current and former Young Eagles stopped by to share their progress reports, success stories, and future aviation plans. As a side note, it was nice to receive feedback from parents that attended this event last year and learned about AirVenture from us had decided to attend AirVenture 2025. 100 percent of them said their family would not only attend AirVenture 2026 but also spend more time there.