Guided
School Group Tour Descriptions
Discovery
Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building
Grades: K–3
Availability: Tuesday (limit 30 students), Wednesday (limit 50
students), and Friday (limit 30 students)
Duration: 60 minutes
Description: Learn about the world’s most famous
aircraft and spacecraft through the accomplishments of the
aviators and astronauts who flew in them. Hear how the Wright
brothers built their 1903 Flyer, how Amelia Earhart crossed
the Atlantic in the Lockheed Vega, how early stewardesses
cared for passengers on the Ford Tri-motor, and how astronauts
traveled to the Moon in the Apollo 11 command module. A teacher
guide about the beginnings of passenger travel, sent with
your tour confirmation, supports National Education Standards
for K-3 social studies and language arts. Additional classroom
lessons on the Wright brothers can be found on the Museum's
Web site, airandspace.si.edu/wrightbrothers.
Online Resource: Milestones
of Flight exhibition, The Wright
Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age exhibition.
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African Americans In Air And Space History
Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building
Grades: 4–12
Availability: Tuesday (limit 30 students)
Duration: 60 minutes
Description: Explore the challenges and successes of the
African American pioneers who joined the growing fields of
aviation and space from the 1920s to the present. See a P-51
fighter aircraft and hear tales of the Tuskegee Airmen who
flew these fighters during World War II. A teaching poster,
sent with your tour confirmation, contains a classroom lesson
that supports National Education Standards for intermediate,
middle, and high school social studies and language arts.
Additional classroom lessons are available online at airandspace.si.edu/blackwings.
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Exploring The Planets Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building
Grades: 3–8
Availability: Tuesday (limit 30 students), Wednesday (limit 45 students), Thursday (limit 50
students), and Friday (limit 30 students)
Duration: 60 minutes
Description: Learn about other planets and such planetary
probes as Magellan and Voyager. The tour includes a look at
the Viking Lander that explored Mars.
A teaching
poster, which includes a classroom lesson that supports
National Education Standards for elementary and intermediate
school science, is available online.
Online Resource: Exploring
the Planets Teaching Poster; Exploring
The Planets exhibition.
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Exploring Space Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building
Grades: 4–12
Availability: Monday - Saturday (limit 30 students)
Duration: 60 minutes
Description: Study such spacecraft as the Apollo 11 command
module and the Skylab Orbital Workshop, and examine the technology
and scientific advances that have expanded our horizons.
Online Resource: Destiny
in Space Teacher Guide, Explore
The Universe Teacher Packet, Explore
The Universe exhibition.
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Exploring the Universe with Telescopes
Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building
Grades: 4–12
Availability: Wednesday (limit 45
students)
Duration: 60 minutes
Description: Discover a new way of looking at the Universe by exploring how telescopes have expanded our view of the heavens from Galileo to the Hubble Space Telescope.
Online Resource: Destiny
in Space Teacher Guide, Explore
The Universe Teacher Packet, Explore
The Universe exhibition.
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History Of Flight
Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building
Grades: 4–12
Availability: Monday - Saturday (limit 30 students)
Duration: 60 minutes
Description: Trace the development of flight from early
balloons to modern spacecraft, focusing on some of the world’s
most famous aircraft and spacecraft, and the people who flew
them. A teaching poster that highlights the beginning of aviation,
will be sent with your confirmation.
Online Resources: Milestones
of Flight exhibition; Space
Race; From Airmail to
Airlines Teacher Guide.
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Air Transportation—Past, Present,
And Future
Location: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Grades: 3-8
Availability: Monday through Friday
Duration: 60 minutes
Description: Explore the evolution of aircraft that contributed to the growth of the air transportation industry. Students compare experiences of early airplane passengers with those of today's passengers and speculate on what the next 50 years will bring.
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Fying for Fun
Location: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Grades: Pre-K-8
Availability: Monday through Friday
Duration: 60 minutes
Description: This tour is designed for summer camps and other organized groups visiting over the summer and focuses on the personal and fun aspects of aviation. Racing planes as well as planes that typically are built not in factories but in people’s garages, are discussed. Most of the planes on this tour were designed for individuals to fly for fun, or to set new records, or both! Ask lots of questions on this tour. We want you to have fun and see what you want to see!
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Personal Aviation
Location: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Grades: Pre-K-3
Availability: Monday through Friday
Duration: 30 minutes (pre-K-K); 60 minutes (1-3)
Description: This tour introduces younger students to the concept of flight by examining different types of aircraft. Students are shown how airplanes can be both useful and fun to fly. Students are shown how aviation affects their lives. This tour is designed to accommodate the interests of the students on the tour and can vary greatly in content and duration depending on student interest. The tour guide can adapt the tour upon request.
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McDonnell Space Hangar Highlights
Location: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Grades: 6-12
Availability: Monday through Friday
Duration: 60 minutes
Description: Explore the new home of the Space Shuttle Discovery and other space artifacts. Join us as we trace our history, science and technology into space.
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History through Military Aviation
Location: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Grades: 6-12
Availability: Monday through Friday
Duration: 60 minutes
Description: Investigate aviation innovations that were born from world conflicts. Discover how these history-making events pushed science and technology to new limits. Teachers may pick this tour with one the following emphasis areas:
1) History of WWI
2) History of WWII
3) History of the Cold War
4) History from WWI to the present
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Udvar-Hazy Center Highlights Tour I and II
Location: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Grades: 3-7 (Tour I) and 8-12 (Tour II)
Availability: Monday through Friday
Duration: 60 minutes (Grades: 3-7) or 90 minutes (Grades: 8-12)
Description: Examine exciting aircraft from the early days of aviation to the first space shuttle while learning about changes in technology over time.
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