About This Event
Join the Aviation Museum of N.H. at the Portsmouth Historical Society for a one-time, curated off-site event that’s sure to be out of this world.
On the night of Sept. 19, 1961, Betty and Barney Hill drove through New Hampshire’s White Mountains on their way back to Portsmouth from their honeymoon trip to Niagara Falls and Montreal. On Route 3, near Franconia, they saw a light in the sky. Their world, and ours, was never the same again.
The Hills’ ensuing story of alien abduction changed lives and helped shape the cultural imagination of a generation, especially influencing perception around outer space and space travel. The Hills’ narrative of their abduction and descriptions of their captors influenced how aliens were portrayed in science fiction for decades. After the release of ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ in 1977, the imagery from their story became cemented in popular culture and fueled a growing fascination with the unknown and with aerospace at the height of the Cold War.
Visitors to the exhibition can expect to learn more about the Hills’ civil rights advocacy, the timeline of the abduction event, and how their experiences have had a lasting effect on how aliens are viewed in pop culture and the Space Race.
Attendees will be led around the exhibition and hear remarks by the Portsmouth Historical Society’s Exhibition Manager, Meredith Affleck, who has fully immersed herself in the events surrounding the Hills' experience and has been having the time of her life working on this exhibition as a life-long X-Files fan. Come along on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Portsmouth Historical Society, 10 Middle St, Portsmouth, N.H. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. to allow visitors time to peruse an installation of art dedicated to the Hills’ experience.
The event is a part of the Aviation Museum of N.H.’s 'Exploring Aviation' series, and is open to the public. Admission is $10 per person and Aviation Museum members are free.
- Parking at the rear of the building (it’s a small lot; if there’s a problem with the cars parked, please call the front desk at (603)436-8433). Additional parking can be found directly across the street in the Bridge Street Lot.
- Wheelchair ramp at rear of the building, entrance on Islington Street sidewalk
- Automatic doors at the rear of the building and at the main gallery entrances
- An elevator to access the second floor
- Universally accessible restrooms on the ground floor
About This Event
Join the Aviation Museum of N.H. at the Portsmouth Historical Society for a one-time, curated off-site event that’s sure to be out of this world.
On the night of Sept. 19, 1961, Betty and Barney Hill drove through New Hampshire’s White Mountains on their way back to Portsmouth from their honeymoon trip to Niagara Falls and Montreal. On Route 3, near Franconia, they saw a light in the sky. Their world, and ours, was never the same again.
The Hills’ ensuing story of alien abduction changed lives and helped shape the cultural imagination of a generation, especially influencing perception around outer space and space travel. The Hills’ narrative of their abduction and descriptions of their captors influenced how aliens were portrayed in science fiction for decades. After the release of ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ in 1977, the imagery from their story became cemented in popular culture and fueled a growing fascination with the unknown and with aerospace at the height of the Cold War.
Visitors to the exhibition can expect to learn more about the Hills’ civil rights advocacy, the timeline of the abduction event, and how their experiences have had a lasting effect on how aliens are viewed in pop culture and the Space Race.
Attendees will be led around the exhibition and hear remarks by the Portsmouth Historical Society’s Exhibition Manager, Meredith Affleck, who has fully immersed herself in the events surrounding the Hills' experience and has been having the time of her life working on this exhibition as a life-long X-Files fan. Come along on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Portsmouth Historical Society, 10 Middle St, Portsmouth, N.H. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. to allow visitors time to peruse an installation of art dedicated to the Hills’ experience.
The event is a part of the Aviation Museum of N.H.’s 'Exploring Aviation' series, and is open to the public. Admission is $10 per person and Aviation Museum members are free.
- Parking at the rear of the building (it’s a small lot; if there’s a problem with the cars parked, please call the front desk at (603)436-8433). Additional parking can be found directly across the street in the Bridge Street Lot.
- Wheelchair ramp at rear of the building, entrance on Islington Street sidewalk
- Automatic doors at the rear of the building and at the main gallery entrances
- An elevator to access the second floor
- Universally accessible restrooms on the ground floor