Take a Little Airplane Trip
Grades: Pre-K and K (Ages 2-5)
Description: Pack your suitcase, get your boarding pass and take a pretend trip on an airplane with Lisa’s Airplane Trip by Anne Gutman. Dress up and role play as a ticket agent, baggage handler, flight attendant or pilot in our America by Air gallery.
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Astronaut School
Grades: Pre-K and K (Ages 2-5)
Description: What does it take to prepare for space travel? Join our astronaut school and find out if you have the right stuff to become an astronaut. We will read Astronaut Handbook by Megan McCarthy and then visit the Space Race exhibit to see real astronaut suits, astronaut food, and other accommodations for living and working in space.
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Rocket Race
Grades: Pre-K and K (Ages 2-5)
Description: Join our junior rocket engineering team and explore rocket design. After reading Hare and Tortoise Race to the Moon by Oliver J. Corwin we will look at the design of different space vehicles in the National Air and Space Museum. What shapes can you see when you look at a rocket? Students will use their new understanding to design a space ship using pre-cut paper shapes.
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Up, Up and Away!
Grades: 1-3 (Ages 6-8)
Description: Heat rises and so do hot air balloons. After reading the story Hot Air Henry by Mary Calhoun, students learn about the balloons in the National Air and Space Museum’s collection. A demonstration of how hot air can make a Mylar or tissue balloon rise completes the program.
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The Moon Rocks!
Grades: 1-3 (Ages 6-8)
Description: Imagine taking a trip to the Moon! Ride along in Moonbear’s rocket and taste the Moon when we read Mooncake by Frank Asch. Learn about the real Apollo astronauts who visited the Moon. See real Moon rocks and the tools the astronauts used to collect them. Then take a pretend trip to the Moon to collect and sort “Moon rock” samples.
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The Great Solar System Tour
Grades: K-2 (Ages 5-7)
Description: Grab your jet pack and join us on a tour of the solar system. We will read Dogs in Space by Nancy Coffelt, and learn about the different objects that orbit our sun. After the story, students will find out more about the solar system by singing songs, playing interactive games and creating models or images of planets, asteroids, and other objects in the solar system.
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Wright Flyer
Grades: Pre-K-1 (Ages 3-6)
Description: What provides the power that helps airplanes fly? Students will explore engines and propellers in the National Air and Space Museum, starting at the Wright Flyer and progressing to aircraft in the Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery. We will read The Story of the Wright Brothers by Michelle Prater Burke to discover how Orville and Wilbur Wright were inspired to invent the first airplane. Afterwards, students will learn the parts of an airplane, draw a picture of an aircraft, and search for propellers and engines in the Museum.
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Whether the Weather
Grades: Pre-K-1(Ages 2-6)
Description: Weather plays an important role in a pilot's decision making. After reading Sadie the Airmail Pilot by Kellie Strom, students will review whether Sadie made good choices with regard to the weather in the story. Afterwards, students will learn which types of clouds are "friendly" and "unfriendly" to pilots and create their own cloud charts to take back to school.
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How High is the Sky?
Grades: Pre-K and K (Ages 2-5)
Description: What can we see in the sky? How high up does the sky go? These questions are introduced in Mommy's Little Star by Janet Bingham. After the story, students will learn about the objects that we can see when we observe the sky with our eyes and through telescopes. Students will make pretend telescopes and begin their adventures in observing.
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