(KAIR)--$5 million is awarded to the recently opened Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum, with the Atchison-based attraction among 17 other recipients awarded for what a release from the office of Kansas Governor Laura Kelly calls “developing tourism sites statewide.”

All 18 recipients receive a portion of the $30 million in funding made available through the State Park Revitalization and Investment in Notable Tourism program, known as SPRINT, launched by the Department of Commerce earlier this year.

The funds were designated by the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas Executive Committee, known as SPARK, and approved by the State Finance Council to support capital projects that spur regional economic development in the tourism industry, which the release calls “one of the most affected industries by COVID-19.”

Visitor spending, which generates a total annual economic impact of $11.2 billion in Kansas, has yet to return fully to pre-pandemic levels.

The long-planned Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum, based at Atchison's Amelia Earhart Memorial Airport, opened its doors to the public during a ceremony held last month.

The museum, focused on the history of flight through the achievements of trailblazing aviator Amelia Earhart, is expected to draw out-of-state visitors to the Kansas town that Earhart called her childhood home.

The museum, which emphasisizes interactive STEM and history exhibits, is applying to become an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.

Smithsonian Magazine, in January, included the museum in its “The Most Anticipated Museum Openings of 2023” edition.