Reservations are not required, but groups of 20 or more are asked to make arrangements at least three days in advance by calling 314-232-5421.

The Prologue Room is in the corporation's World Headquarters building at McDonnell Boulevard and Airport Road, adjacent to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

The exhibit tells a panoramic story of 75 years of aviation progress, from the company's earliest biplanes to its latest jets. Scale models, dioramas, paintings and photographs depict such important events in aviation history as the first flight around the world in 1924, the first takeoff of a jet fighter from a U.S. Navy carrier in 1946, and the first aircraft to land at the South Pole in 1956.

Separate displays tell the story of the company's part in the development of commercial and military aviation. They feature large-scale models of the F-15 Eagle, F/A-18 Hornet and AH-64 Apache combat aircraft, MD-80 and MD-11 jetliners, and other military and commercial aircraft.

The centerpiece of the exhibit contains full-size engineering mock-ups of the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft that carried America's first astronauts into space. Visitors also can see models of McDonnell Douglas rockets and missiles designed for military use and space exploration, including a full-scale model of the Harpoon radar-guided missile.

The Prologue Room features a collection of original aviation art by company artists, including several oil paintings by

Chuck Wood and R. G. Smith, whose work is also displayed in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

More than 350,000 people have visited the Prologue Room in the 20 seasons it has been open to the public. The facility is equipped with a wheelchair ramp. Because of the Independence Day holiday, the Prologue Room will be closed July 4 and 5.