My email server has been down, so I just now saw the messages about this
topic.  I wrote an article which appeared in last month's issue of Airport
World magazine titled "Airports, Art, and Architecture".  My main discussion
was about public art in airports, but during my research I found out about
San Francisco International Airport's interesting "museum within an
airport", and wrote a sidebar for my article focusing on the San Francisco
Airport Museums.  It is quite an innovative program.  The text of that
sidebar follows for those who might be interested:

Airport Museum Takes Off  Visitors to San Francisco International Airport have the unique opportunity
to view exciting exhibitions gleaned from some of the world's most
interesting museum and private collections.  In 1980, the San Francisco
Airport Commission established an exhibitions program, and since that time
it has developed into a notable museum within the airport.  The program aims
to present a broad range of exhibitions to the travelling public, and to
humanize the otherwise sterile airport environment.  Over 41 million
visitors viewed over 50 exhibitions mounted by the San Francisco Airport
Museums last year alone, ranking it among the most visited museums in the
world.  One driving factor behind the museum's success is director and chief
curator, Elsa Cameron, who has built an international reputation for the
airport's exhibitions program.  "People are starting to understand that San
Francisco Airport acts as an actual museum", says Cameron.  "The quality of
the Airport exhibitions and collaborations with other museums has made this
a valid venue."  The breadth of exhibitions at the airport is impressive, and attempts to
appeal to the wide range of people who pass through this international
facility while reflecting the diversity of the city of San Francisco and the
Bay Area.  Exhibitions must appeal to viewers from vastly different cultures
and backgrounds who will see these exhibitions not by choice, but by chance.
"At a traditional museum, visitors have come specifically to see a
particular exhibition", says Cameron, "here, they have come specifically to
travel.  Although the Airport Museums operate much like a regular museum,
there are unique aspects due to its location.  These are respected by
seeking out exhibitions that will appeal to a very broad audience."  The
diverse selection of exhibitions at San Francisco International Airport
certainly bears this out.  Recent exhibitions have focused on the history of
surfing in America, modern cocktail shakers, and the puppet theaters of
Paris.

Nora Weiser