Category Archives: Education

The Perils of Paper Airplanes

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Visitors to the Museum’s How Things Fly gallery can try out more than 50 hands-on activities and participate in science demonstrations.  The gallery has more than 35 part-time high school and college age Explainers who help visitors interpret the exhibits and the science of flight.  When I trained to be an Explainer, I learned the basics: daily activities, expectations, etc. What I didn’t learn, however, was all the job hazards. Interacting with visitors and doing demonstrations sound pretty safe, right?

 

Paper Airplane Contest

A boy participates in a paper airplane contest in the Museum's "How Things Fly" gallery.

Not quite. Behind the multicolored propellers and paper airplane contests lurk hidden dangers.

A month after I started learning the Paper Airplane Contest, I presented the program for the first time. Visitors make their own airplanes and compete by flying their planes through a hoop from different distances. I thought I had contemplated everything that could go wrong. With hundreds of visitors participating in the contests each day, I assumed the odds of being hit by paper airplanes were high. I began the contest a little nervous, but everything went smoothly and that fateful impact never came. I congratulated the winner and packed up… relieved.  A couple of hours later as I headed to lunch, I squirted hand sanitizer into my palms and felt my hands stinging.  When I looked down there was an irritating paper cut. That was the beginning.

Over the next few weeks, I went home every day with my hands covered in paper cuts not realizing their source. Finally, it hit me. I was demonstrating how to make the folds of a paper airplane really crisp. With a flourish, I’d quickly run my nails along the line and would sometimes feel a sting on my wrist. Looking down, I would realize I was bleeding. Week after week, absorbed in excitement, I had slowly been covering my hands in paper cuts.

 

Paper Airplane Contest

Lauren Rice, an Explainer in the "How Things Fly" gallery, demonstrates how to make a paper airplane.

If you’ve never seen one of the demonstrations at the National Air and Space Museum you haven’t witnessed how easy it is to get caught up in the fun.  Even though we may do the same contest several times a day, each experience is different. I once had a family who attended every contest I held for three days in a row and by the end of the week, the son knew the program as well as I did. Another first-time paper airplane maker was so excited by his experience that his parents jokingly called me their son’s “First Flight Instructor.”

We want our visitors to have fun and enjoy their time at the Museum and hopefully learn a little science. Our ultimate goal is to encourage the learning experience beyond the visit.  Sometimes this goal can be difficult and full of hidden dangers, but I don’t mind.  I really enjoy my job!  I have, however, trained myself to hold the paper just a little farther from my wrists and pay closer attention when I fold my lines. I rarely get paper cuts anymore.  If only I had the same luck with the paper airplane collisions. Remember, aim for the hoop, not the Explainer!

Lauren Rice is an Explainer at the National Air and Space Museum and a student at American University.

The Intern Perspective

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When I went in for my interview at the National Air and Space Museum, I learned that I would be helping plan a family day. Not just any family day – this was a one-time event celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Union Balloon Corps.

The Union, what?

Staff wanted to inflate a massive balloon on the National Mall, invite Civil War reenactors to set up camp, offer hands-on activities inside the Museum, and partner with other museums and historic sites to make this program happen.

I felt energized by their vision and wanted to be part of this project. I had never heard of the Union Balloon Corps and wanted to learn about this seemingly incongruous cross-section of content areas.

I left the interview and decided that there were three reasons (in no particular order) I wanted this internship:

1. To learn

I wanted to learn about the Union Balloon Corps: The last time I studied Civil War history was in high school. Since then I’ve visited Gettysburg battlefield, other Civil War-related museums and sites, and read random news articles about the topic.

This aspect of the Civil War was new and intriguing. I dove into books, websites, blogs and forums. Who was this guy Thaddeus Lowe who founded the Balloon Corps? How did the balloons NOT get shot down?

I kept reading and researching until I formed a baseline knowledge of the subject – I’m no Tom Crouch (senior curator in the Museum’s Aeronautics Division) to be sure, but I felt I had enough information under my belt to start planning.

2. To be challenged

This event was going to be a challenge. Not only was the content new to me, I had never participated in an event that serves up to, potentially, 30,000 people. How do I create a fun, educational and meaningful experience for so many people?

I embraced this challenge as I watched the family day department plan other amazing events that impacted thousands of people at a time.

I even had a chance to pilot a binocular making activity that pays homage to Thaddeus Lowe’s binoculars we have in our collection.

 

Emily Koteki

Kids make binoculars at a craft table at the National Mall building.

3. To be better able to plan dynamic, innovative family days

I observed quickly that family days at the Museum went beyond telescopes and solar systems. They included African storytellers, Nepalese dancers, the Chromatics, kite makers and many other unique connections between the arts and space.

After observing and being part of these events, I learned about taking risks and really being creative in programming and partnerships.

I’ve tried to apply these lessons as I planned this upcoming family day. We hope to see you there!

View the full schedule of events.

Emily Kotecki is a family day programs intern at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and a graduate student at George Washington University studying Museum Education. She is helping to plan this event and can’t wait to see it come to fruition.

 

 

 

Mr. Lincoln’s Air Force: Top 10 Reasons to visit the Museum on June 11th

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How do the National Air and Space Museum and the Civil War intersect?  Come find out as we tell the story of the Union Balloon Corps  founded in June 1861 by President Abraham Lincoln. 150 years ago next month Thaddeus Lowe demonstrated ballooning to President Lincoln on a spot just north from where the Museum now stands on the National Mall.

The Civil War themed family day for all ages, called Mr. Lincoln’s Air Force, will take place Saturday June 11th, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There are possibly 101 reasons to come to the family day, but here are the top ten:

10. Learn about the Union Balloon Corps because it would be a great conversation starter at your next summer picnic.

Thaddeus Lowe

Lowe's balloon the Intrepid being inflated at Fair Oaks, Virginia, May 1862

9. Experience what D.C. was like in 1861 through amazing photographs and walking tours with National Park Service Rangers.

8. Learn how Civil War ballooning impacted the future of espionage techniques.

 

Thaddeus Lowe

Thaddeus Lowe goes aloft aboard the balloon Intrepid to observe Confederate activity during the Battle of Fair Oaks, May 31-June 1, 1862.

7. Build your own balloon replica from strawberry baskets, pipe cleaners, and paper plates.

6. Indulge your inner-Civil War buff, pull out the Union soldier costume that you’ve never been able to wear, until now.

5. Design and construct your own binoculars and see a pair actually used by Thaddeus Lowe.

4. Meet “Abraham Lincoln” and ask him all those questions you’ve been meaning to ask since you read Team of Rivals.

3. Meet author Gail Jarrow who will be signing her book, Lincoln’s Flying Spies: Thaddeus Lowe and the Civil War Balloon Corps.

2. Talk with “Thaddeus Lowe” and members of his Balloon Corps and find out how balloons managed to stay aloft during battles.

 

Thaddeus Lowe

Aeronaut Thaddeus S.C. Lowe

1. See a massive balloon inflated on the National Mall. It probably won’t happen again for another 150 years so make sure you see it on June 11th!

More about this historic event.

Emily Kotecki is the family day programs intern at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and a graduate student at The George Washington University studying museum education.

Are you Smarter than a Curator?

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Judging from the high number of readers who take the quiz in our monthly e-newsletter, What’s Up, lots of people enjoy a good brain teaser now and then. Well, here’s a chance for our blog readers to put themselves to the test.

 

Smarter than a Curator

Smarter Than A Curator Sticker

Created by Roger Launius, senior curator for lunar and planetary spacecraft, this five-question quiz will test your knowledge about space exploration and related artifacts in the Museum’s collection. Best of all, it’s not only a fun way to find out how much you know, it’s also a great way to support the National Air and Space Museum. Every question you answer correctly earns ten cents for the Museum, helping support the incredible work that goes into creating a wealth of memorable experiences at both our locations. Plus, after you complete the quiz, you are eligible to receive a free “Are You Smarter than a Curator?” sticker.

 

Roger Launius

Roger Launius, senior curator in the Space History Division of the National Air and Space Museum

So, think you have what it takes to answer questions created by one of the Smithsonian’s world-renowned curators? It’s time to find out — take the quiz today!

Tell your friends! The more people who participate, the more money will be donated to the National Air and Space Museum. Spread the word on Facebook and Twitter.

Want to do even more to support the National Air and Space Museum? Become a member in the National Air and Space Society, and/or place a name on the Wall of Honor.

The quiz is available from May 16 through June 17.

Kathleen Hanser is a writer-editor at the National Air and Space Museum.

 

 

Hosting America’s Best Teachers

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2011 Teachers of the Year

Educator Tim Grove engages the state Teachers of the Year in the "Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery"

Last week the Smithsonian Institution hosted the state Teachers of the Year, who were in town for their annual visit to the White House.  The teachers split into smaller groups to visit eight different Smithsonian units, and we were honored to have seven teachers come to the National Air and Space Museum.  They represented Texas, Minnesota, Louisiana, New Jersey, Connecticut, Utah, and Wisconsin.

Through an interactive tour, the Education staff showed them some of the challenges and opportunities inherent in designing positive learning experiences for  approximately eight million Museum visitors and millions more online visitors.  We started with a quick but mandatory stop in The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age exhibition where educator Beth Wilson demonstrated our Discovery Stations and invited the teachers to join her in some hands-on learning. Then they met curator Dorothy Cochrane in our brand new Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery and gained some insight into aviators Charles and Anne Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart.  They also talked with Beth Wilson and me about the ways that Museum educators bring our knowledge of learning theory and audience research to the exhibition development process.  We looked at various interactive components and discussed how we try to ensure that each visitor will find a way to engage with our exhibitions.  Then it was on to the Moving Beyond Earth exhibition, a new exhibition that looks at the topic of human spaceflight. They met Roger Launius, senior curator in the  Space History Division, and Paul Griffith, the gallery manager. The teachers tested their space knowledge by taking the Spaceflight Academy quiz  and they designed a module for a virtual space station.

2011 Teachers of the Year

Curator Dorothy Cochrane discusses Amelia Earhart with teachers in the "Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery"

The tour also included a brief spin through the popular hands-on gallery How Things Fly, and a look at some of the Museum’s amazing art collection. Maureen Kerr, chair of the Education Division, joined us and we ended the visit with a stimulating conversation about the kinds of materials we can offer teachers around the nation and how we can use technology to reach their states and beyond. They gave us an honest assessment of their challenges and successes with technology.  As we look toward using our new state-of-the-art presentation center and control room in the Moving Beyond Earth gallery, we found this conversation extremely valuable. It’s not every day that we get to pick the brains of Teachers of the Year.

2011 Teachers of the Year

Educator Beth Wilson demonstrates Bernoulli's Principle in "The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age " exhibition

I’ve participated in this program for five years now and it’s a highlight of the year. I enjoy seeing the enthusiasm of the teachers as they have rare opportunities to interact with Smithsonian staff and go behind the scenes. But even more, I leave inspired by some of the best teachers in our country. Their dedication to America’s students is obvious and their constant desire to look for new ways to engage their classes is encouraging.  We at the National Air and Space Museum salute all of the 2011 state Teachers of the Year.

Tim Grove is chief of Education for the National Mall Building.