The staff at the National Air and Space Museum are gearing up for the annual Mars Day!, a celebration of the Red Planet. On July 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., visitors at the Museum can partake of a variety of educational and family fun activities throughout the galleries.
Dr. Jim Zimbleman of the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies shows a visitor a piece of Mars – a real meteorite that came from Mars! (Credit: Jennifer Griffes)
On Mars Day! visitors can interact one-on-one with Smithsonian and NASA scientists active in Mars research and mission planning, see a real meteorite that came from Mars, learn about Mars missions, explore the Museum’s new Mars exhibit with a curator, see amazingly detailed images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, view the surface of Mars in 3-D, learn about the geology of Mars, and more.
Left: Global view of Mars (Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), J. Bell (Cornell University), and M. Wolff (Space Science Institute, Boulder)); Right: Surface and atmosphere of Mars taken from low orbit (Credit: NASA Viking Orbiter Raw Image Archive)
Why is Mars so special that hundreds of scientists study it every day and it gets its very own day at the National Air and Space Museum? Here are just a few reasons:
Mars shows evidence that water may have once flowed on its surface, and water is a key ingredient for life.
Mars could have or still does support microbial life.
Mars has deserts, ice caps, valleys, and volcanoes like those on the Earth and impact craters like those on the Moon
Mars is tied to understanding the processes of habitability and global climate change.
Victoria Crater and its dunes on the surface of Mars taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)
Check out the website for a full schedule of Mars Day! events. And don’t forget to turn your eyes to the sky—Mars itself can be seen in the evening western sky.
Mars Day! is made possible by the generous support of KRAFT Macaroni and Cheese.
Meghan Cassidy is an intern in the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the National Air and Space Museum.
National Air and Space Museum staff contribute to many larger Smithsonian efforts during any given year. For example, this year the Smithsonian Folklife Festival staff came calling. The 2010 Festival running June 24-28 and July 1-5, features the “culture” of the Smithsonian. “Smithsonian Inside Out” allows visitors to interact with Smithsonian experts and get a glimpse behind-the-Castle-doors, so to speak.
Ever wonder how we hang those huge airplanes? Museum specialist Samantha Snell will tell you.
Do you have questions about spacesuits? Division of Space History staff will provide some answers.
What kinds of skills are needed to produce a large exhibition? Hear one of the exhibit teams talk about the gallery, Moving Beyond Earth.
Did you know that our designers often create 3-D models of exhibitions? See some models and talk to our design staff.
How does Smithsonian staff collaborate with visitors? Help Smithsonian educators, including some from the National Air and Space Museum, test a variety of exhibition components.
What’s the latest news from Mars? Meet some of the scientists in the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies and hear about their latest research projects.
Andy Johnston of the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies talks about satellite images of Earth at the Smithsonian's annual Folklife Festival.
Designer Jennifer Carlton shows designs for the new Pioneers of Flight exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum.
So, grab a water bottle, some sunscreen, and a hat, and visit us at the festival. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see a different perspective of the Smithsonian. Check the Festival website http://www.festival.si.edu/2010/smithsonian_inside_out.aspx for specific schedules.
Tim Grove is chief of Education at the National Air and Space Museum’s Mall building.
President Obama’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign, announced last year, calls for increased literacy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for all students. Increased STEM literacy means increased understanding of key scientific concepts, increased familiarity with technology and its applications, and increased exposure to the experimental process.
As one of the world’s most popular museums, our stories of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are engaging and relevant to old and young visitors alike. Just spend a day counting the number of school groups and young families ooh-ing and aah-ing over our exhibits! To all our staff and visitors, it’s obvious that the National Air and Space Museum is a key component of President Obama’s goals to inform, challenge, and inspire students through STEM education.
One exciting way we are able to support STEM education in the DC Public Schools is through the Science in Pre-K Program, funded by PNC Bank’s Grow Up Great With Science program. Now starting its second year, Science in Pre-K provides professional development to DCPS preschool teachers to support teaching science through exploration and problem solving.
Teachers explore the mechanics of water flow at the National Air and Space Museum during a Science in Pre-K session.
A core component of the Science in Pre-K program is giving teachers opportunities to explore science concepts themselves, before they introduce these ideas to their students. Too often teachers are asked to implement science units before they themselves are familiar with the material, particularly with early childhood and elementary teachers, who often don’t have strong science backgrounds. Early childhood staff met with teachers at the museum seven times during the school year for full-day science inquiry sessions. Teachers explored using the same materials their students used. Additionally, significant time was spent discussing the scientific concepts and theories behind their observations and discoveries.
Science in Pre-K students check out the hands-on propeller in the Wright Brothers gallery.
Back in the classroom, 3- and 4-year-olds made connections between their daily science explorations and the bigger picture at the National Air and Space Museum. For example, during a recent unit on the properties of water, students explored water movement in their classrooms with tubes and water wheels. During their field trip at the National Air and Space Museum, students heard the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first airplane making connections between how water flows and how air flows – and, how early airplanes used propellers to help them fly.
Connections like these, between the classroom and museums, are not only fun but critical in exciting teachers about STEM education – and children about STEM subjects. With the Science in Pre-K program at the National Air and Space Museum, teachers are equipped to inspire and instruct a new generation of scientists and engineers!
Lise Zinck is the Science in Pre-K program assistant in the Early Childhood Education department.
What does it take to organize a fly-in at the National Air and Space Museum? Lots of time and lots of good friends! As we head into our sixth year of Become a Pilot Day, it’s a great time to look back at how it all started and where we go from here.
As a pilot myself, the idea of a fly-in was a no-brainer. The Udvar-Hazy Center, immediately adjacent to Washington Dulles International Airport and with lots of outdoor space to tie down aircraft, was perfectly situated to host such an event. After some convincing of my boss and the Museum’s leadership, and the generous support of a donor ready to support the event, I was ready to coordinate the first ever fly-in at the Smithsonian.
Become a Pilot day, 2005
It was a little nerve-racking to now be in charge of finding aircraft and pilots for an event that had no precedent. For the first year event, we decided to accept planes and pilots that had someone at the National Air and Space Museum who could vouch for them. We had 30 aircraft scheduled to attend (27 made it), and each of them knew either me or the Museum’s curator of general aviation, who is also a pilot. It was a great day, everything went smoothly and the weather was great. A few airplanes were nestled up at nearby Landmark aviation the night before, including mine, so even if the weather had been bad we would still have planes on the ground. My husband was drafted to lead the “airplane conga line” in our Navion from the parking area at the airport to the Udvar-Hazy Center.
From the pilots and aircraft flying in to the people helping on the ground, Become A Pilot Day could never happen without our volunteers. That first year, I knew I was going to have a bunch of pilots landing at Dulles, which can be a bit of a challenge for someone used to flying at a small field. Instead of the usual taxi of less than a mile, they’d have to taxi about six miles across the airport to the Udvar-Hazy Center. I knew I’d need some of the best aircraft parkers in the world. As it happens, my husband and I volunteer at Oshkosh (now AirVenture) which is the largest general aviation fly-in in the world, so I called up the co-chair of vintage parking and another senior aircraft parker and said, “Hey, you guys want to come to the Museum and park some planes?” They said “Sure, sounds like fun.” Considering they both lived in Colorado and came out on their own dime, that’s a big deal! They’ve returned to support us every year since.
Aero Vodochody L-39. One of several aircraft featured in a temporary outdoor display at the National Air and Space Museum "Become A Pilot" family day.
MD500 Helicopter. One of several aircraft featured in a temporary outdoor display at the National Air and Space Museum "Become A Pilot" family day at the Udvar-Hazy Center.
We have no shortage of folks willing to help and share their love of aviation with the public. Everyone from Museum volunteers & staff helping with logistics & public programs, to Civil Air Patrol Cadets, Jr. ROTC cadets, and scouts helping with everything from crowd control to the 6AM FOD Walk (FOD stands for Foreign Object Damage) to make sure there’s nothing outside on the ground that might be sucked into a jet engine.
We had a great mix of aircraft and pilots the first year, and each year we’ve had a few more aircraft, from farther away and representing even more diversity. We’ve had many different kind of pilots including record setting pilots, famous pilots, commercial jet pilots, flying businessman, a elderly gentleman with an equally elderly aircraft, weekend pilots, glider pilots, hot air balloon pilots, aircraft mechanics, dentists, military pilots, hang gliders, and just about everything else, but one thing that remained constant, they all volunteered to be here and they all love flying.
We add or do something different each year, but we always have the same basic foundation: great volunteers who are enthusiastic about air and space and sharing their love for aviation with our visitors. For our visitors, it is a rare opportunity to meet pilots, see working airplanes up close and in many cases, climb into the pilot’s seat. This year will be no different, with about 50 airplanes and lots of activities, including a demonstration from wing walkers (on the ground, of course).
I would like to personally thank all of our volunteers and sponsors we’ve had for the past six years of Become a Pilot Day. It’s an enormous amount of work, but when the day comes and the ramp is full of kids of all ages climbing in and out of working airplanes, all smiling and having a great time, it’s worth every bit of effort and then some. On this day one can’t help but feel that the sky is not the limit.
Margy Natalie is the docent program manager at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at the National Air and Space Museum.
What do yogurt cups and juice bottles have to do with the International Space Station? If you dropped by the National Mall Building on Saturday, May 8, between 10am and 3pm, you would have seen this question being answered by hundreds of visitors, working together to build a space station out of recycled materials.
Space Day is an annual family day program sponsored by Lockheed Martin. In addressing this year’s theme, “Looking at Earth from Space,” our astronaut guests explained the incredible feeling of seeing the circumference of the earth from the window of the shuttle. Curators from the National Air and Space Museum and presenters from research organizations used models and displays to show how satellites work and the cool things we can do with them.
We want family days to engage audiences of all ages in fun, informal, educational activities. For Space Day 2010, visitors could watch astronaut Dan Tani’s presentation about his stint on the International Space Station or build a satellite out of Styrofoam®. They could learn about observing solar irradiance at NASA’s GLORY display or chat with former astronaut Ken Wrightler at the Lockheed Martin booth. They could design a mission patch, hear astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson answer questions via amateur radio live from the International Space Station, or ask the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency about using satellites for disaster mitigation.
Astronaut Dan Tani talks about his experience on Expedition 16. He spent 120 days living and working on the ISS.
Back to yogurt cups and juice bottles: you may have noticed a new “exhibit” in the South Lobby between Saturday May 8 and Monday May 10. A nod to the environmental impact of the 1968 Earthrise photos, our visitor-built space station integrated the Space Day theme with our goals of promoting visitor interaction and using social media. The Museums’ flickr® account now features a set including pictures taken of the station every 30 minutes.
Kids and their parents built nodules, laboratories, robotic arms, and docking stations on the recycled space station. They drew their own symbol or “flag” on the section they created, mimicking the national flag on ISS modules
The final photo of the finished space station! Snapped at 3pm, this shows the work accomplished by visitors of all ages throughout the event.
More than 40,000 visitors experienced Space Day this year. When you see a 7-year-old zooming around with his water-bottle space shuttle or hear a teenager say, “This is so cool!” to her friend during an astronaut’s presentation, you realize that this Museum has the power to both educate and inspire.
Erin Hrubik is the family programming assistant in the Education Department of the National Air and Space Museum.
Sometimes seemingly ordinary people become extraordinary by staying remarkably calm and capable in a crisis. The crew of US Airways Flight 1549 performed exceptionally on January 15, 2009, when their Airbus A320 jetliner became disabled over New York City after flying through a flock of geese moments after they took off from LaGuardia Airport. Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey B. Skiles masterfully guided the powerless aircraft to an emergency “landing” on the Hudson River. Flight attendants Donna Dent, Doreen Welsh, and Sheila Dail quickly and safely evacuated all 150 passengers. Although the captain and crew modestly claimed they were “just doing what they were trained to do,” rarely has such an urgent situation been so capably executed to avert disaster. The successful end to US Airways Flight 1549 without fatalities lasted only a few minutes, but this remarkable achievement exemplified the value of training, experience, and professionalism for the safety of commercial aviation. That is why the National Air and Space Museum will be awarding them our Annual Trophy for Current Achievement for 2010.
Flight crew from US Airways flight 1549. From left to right: Chesley Sullenberger, Doreen Welsh, Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Jeffrey Skiles.
The crew of flight 1549 will be participating in an online conference this Wednesday, April 28th, where they will be taking your questions about this heroic accomplishment. Please register now to join the conversation.
Bob Van der Linden is the chair of the Aeronautics Division of the National Air and Space Museum.
Ground crew unload a Douglas DC-2 of Pan American - Grace Airways, c.1940.
Pulling up stakes is always hard to do, especially if you’re packing up and moving a million plus documents, photographs, films, engineering drawings, tech manuals, and all the other treasures that make up the National Air and Space Museum’s Archives Division. Starting in May, some of our reference and reproduction services will be suspended as we get ready for the move to our great new facilities at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Phase Two. Right now, these are the affected services and the dates on which they’ll be suspended:
May 1, 2010 – Photo orders; film and video requests.
August 1 – Reproductions of microfilm, drawings, and technical manuals; Photocopies of collections material; Donations to the Archives Division collections.
September 1 – Research appointments at the Paul E. Garber Facility Reading Room in Suitland, Maryland.
We’ll continue to field permission and reference requests, but there may be delays in responding – we’re going to be rather busy. Oh, yes – the Archives and Library reading room in the National Mall building will still be open for research by appointment during the move period.
Greetings, from the Astronomy Intern here at the National Air and Space Museum!
I will admit that despite being the Astronomy Intern, I am not a science person by background. In fact, my experience is in world literature, history, and multicultural advocating. So what am I doing here, you ask?
Well, for professional reasons, my plan as a budding museum educator is to promote the further diversification of the museum field by learning how to draw in a stronger minority presence. I chose to intern here at the National Air and Space Museum to see how particularly challenging it is for science museums to weave a cultural thread into their programming.
For more personal reasons, I wanted to rekindle an old love for astronomy. I was once that kid who would post myself in the street late at night and stare resolutely up at the sky in search of Comet Hyakutake. I never found it, but I have fond memories of recruiting my family to stand in the streets and stare up with me.
It is in the spirit of these ambitions and memories that I am thrilled to report that the Museum offers an array of family-oriented, culturally diverse experiences. For instance, the series of upcoming Heritage Family Days are definite celebrations of multiple perspectives in the history of aviation and space.
Special guests at the Family Day, including the first all-female, all-African American commercial flight crew, Space Shuttle astronaut, Leland Melvin, and former NASA astronaut and first African American woman in space, Dr. Mae Jemison.
Just this past Saturday, February 20, we held African American Pioneers Family Day. We enjoyed quite a successful turnout as thousands came to partake in some aviation and space-related arts and crafts, and also to see historic figures speak live:
The Tuskegee Airmen: the first squadron of African American pilots in WWII
The Atlantic Southeast Airlines Crew: the first all-female, African American flight crew
Dr. Mae Jemison: former NASA astronaut and first African American woman in space
Leland Melvin: NASA astronaut and educator who recently returned from his thrilling trip to space
Aside from being an all-around good time, the Family Day also conveyed truly empowering messages. Particularly poignant was Dr. Jemison’s tale of how she was determined to break the mold that was cast upon her as an African-American woman. I also loved that Leland Melvin took time out of his presentation to personally address the school group of 3rd and 4th graders I was hosting for the day. Because of such dynamic, inspiring individuals, the face of science and aviation has continued to become ever more multifaceted.
Explore the Universe Family Day
Stay tuned because there’s even more exciting programs in Family Days to come. Currently, part of my role as an intern is to assist in planning events for April’s Family Day: Explore the Universe. Our goal is to represent as many cultures across the globe as possible and educate visitors on how different people have interpreted the skies. It’s sure to be a smile-inducing, eye-opening, and mind-bending experience!
So keep checking back in for the dates of these fun events. We have such great ideas brewing, and I hope to see many of your fresh – and diverse– faces here at the National Air and Space Museum.
Sharleen Eusebio is an intern in the National Air and Space Museum’s Education Division.
A girl, her pony, and a Piper J-3C Cub. Photograph by Hans Groenhoff, NASM HGC-1117
Museum intern Thomas Paone’s fascinating post on the funeral of Skippy, mascot of Navy Hedron 12, reminded me of my surprise – and delight – when I started finding a surprising number of photographs of animals in the files of the Museum archives. I had recently joined the National Air and Space Museum, and I guess I was expecting, well, air and space photographs. Those we had in plenty, of course, but also mobs of dogs, cats, horses, chimps, at least one woodchuck, an actual flying pig, and a famous lion. Later on, many of them made a public appearance in my book Animals Aloft. And on Sunday, December 13, some of them will even show up on TV when the video version of Animals Aloft premieres on the Smithsonian Channel.
Producer Gail Flannigan found wonderful old newsreel footage and recorded a number of compelling stories. My favorite may be the saga of Ham, the astronaut chimp, narrated by Benjamin Lawless – who knew Ham personally.
And here’s a short “behind the scenes” video – the camera and crew track in to a cold storage unit at the Museum’s Paul E. Garber Facility to reveal Gilmore, the famous far-flying lion mascot of aviator Roscoe Turner:
Astronaut John W. Young, commander of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, jumps up from the lunar surface as he salutes the U.S. Flag during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA). NASA Image #GPN-2000-001131
The National Air and Space Museum is holding its first ever virtual conference for educators on Tuesday, November 10 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST. Since we’re in the middle of the 40th anniversary commemorations of the Apollo missions, we decided to focus on this important period in American history. Staff from our Division of Space History will discuss some fascinating topics such as the real story behind President Kennedy’s famous speech challenging Congress to send Americans to the Moon; the role of computers—a new technology in the 1960s; the myth of presidential leadership during this time period; the intersections of Ralph Abernathy, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Moon landing; the rise of six iconic Apollo images and how they have been used over time; and the denials of the Moon landings by a small segment of the population and their evolution since the 1960s. They will also explain the complexity behind the Saturn Rocket, the Command, Service, and Lunar Modules and the technique of Lunar-Orbital Rendezvous. Museum educators will provide tips for helping students analyze primary source materials. The program will support the NASA History Advanced Placement and Human Geography Advanced Placement projects and is generously funded by NASA.
New to virtual conferencing? A virtual or online conference is similar to other professional conferences only you access it online. Registration is free and open to everyone. And since we know people are busy and the conference schedule will not be convenient for everyone interested, all the conference sessions are recorded and archived so you can play them at any time.
Whether you’re an educator or not, we invite you to join us for this free event. And, help us spread the word!
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