A new museum has opened that features a replica of Amelia Earhart's final aircraft

Amelia Earhart’s achievements during the early years of aviation captured the world's attention.

Earhart's daring flight still captures our imaginations more than a century after her death. Now, fans of the pioneering pilot can relive her history on Kansas soil.

Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum was opened in Atchison this April, an hour north of Kansas City.

According to a museum press release, Muriel is the only Lockheed Electra 10E aircraft in existence.

"Named after Earhart's younger sister, Grace Muriel Earhart Morrissey, Muriel is identical to the plane Earhart flew on her final, fateful flight around the world," according to the museum press release.

The museum is bursting with interactive exhibits.

"The new Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum will celebrate a woman who showed us what it means to 'reach for the stars'," stated Kansas Governor Laura Kelly.

Karen Seaburg, founder of the museum, explained to CNN Travel what inspired her to work to open it, as this museum was the brainchild and vision of her late Ladd.

"There's not a museum like this about Amelia. There are a lot of STEM museums, and there are a lot of history museums," Seaburg said.

"What we've done is combine STEM and history into a unique museum about her life but also learning about the STEM of flying, aviation and centrifugal force - all the different things kids need to learn and adults, too."

Seaburg said Earhart was more than just a pioneer in the skies. She was the first woman to solo fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

"She was a suffragette. Because of her status and because people knew her, she met with President [Herbert] Hoover about getting women the vote," she said.

Her disappearance in the Pacific Ocean, 1937, was "a huge blow to the entire country." Atchison and Kansas were both international figures.

Seaburg stated that the Muriel in the museum is one of 14 Lockheed Electra 10E aircraft produced. It is a twin to the plane Earhart flew. It was the second plane off the line when it left in 1935.

"The reason Amelia chose that plane was it went higher, faster. It was the premier of the day. She wanted to have the best airplane she could pick."

During World War II, other Electra 10Es were outfitted to fight and put into service as military aircraft. This plane continued to carry civilian passengers. "So even the fuel lines and everything is exactly like Amelia's plane."

She and her late husband acquired the plane just before his passing in 2016, and built a hangar with an Art Deco style museum and a cost of $17 million.

The interactive exhibits will allow people to:

• Experience Earhart’s perspective by entering a full scale replica of Muriel’s cockpit
• Experience the historic transatlantic flight of Earhart in virtual reality
• Learn hot the nearly 85,000 metal rivets were forged to hold Muriel together.
• Trace the history of flight through 3-D holograms, from gliders to biplanes.

Find out more details about the event, including ticket prices and opening times.

"What I love about Amelia was she more than just an aviator. She was more than just getting lost in the ocean and whatever happened to her. She's relevant today because she was a pioneer," mentioned Seaburg. "We want people going away from this thinking: 'I can dream my dreams.'"

Source: edition.cnn.com