Visiting Dayton

Dayton is the hometown of Wilbur and Orville Wright and calls itself the birthplace of aviation. If you can stay an extra day, aviation history is close at hand.

Downtown Dayton skyline seen across the Great Miami River — Downtown Dayton across the Great Miami River. Photo: Tysto, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Aviation history

Carillon Historical Park, a short drive from campus, displays the Wright brothers' original 1905 Wright Flyer III along with exhibits on Dayton's history of invention.
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park preserves sites from the Wrights' story, including their cycle shop and Huffman Prairie, the field where they learned to fly.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is the world's largest military aviation museum, and admission is free.

The 1905 Wright Flyer III biplane on display in a museum hall — The 1905 Wright Flyer III at Carillon Historical Park. Photo: Nyttend, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Aerial view of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force hangars with autumn trees — The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force from the air. Photo: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

More of the region

Destination Dayton, the city's visitor bureau, lists restaurants, events and attractions. Cincinnati and Columbus are each about an hour's drive away.