Traveling is always an exciting experience and no matter how far you're traveling, you have to eat!
What food do you eat when you're on the move? How is it different on an airplane or in a spacecraft?
Scroll down for activities to explore these questions!
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Explore how food on airplane flights changed over time!
Put your imagination hat on and pretend you are going on a long airplane flight across the United States. What will you eat?
Look at the images below and choose one snack, one main meal, and a drink.
If you were flying in the 1920s, you would have these food choices:
If you were flying in the 1950s - 1970s, you would have these food choices:
If you were flying in the 1980s, you would have these food choices:
If you were flying in from 2010 - now, you would have these food choices:
Spotlight Story
Video
Think about it!
Do you have a favorite meal that you would want to bring from home and create in space? What would it be? Ask your family members the same question and compare your answers!
The books below are a few that talk about what happens when you fly on an airplane.
Best for ages 3 to 7
by Anne Gutman, illustrated by Georg Hallensleben
Follow along as Lisa discovers what happens during a flight on an airplane—her first trip!
Best for ages 8 and up
By Clive Gifford, illustrated by James Gulliver Hancock
Find out what happens behind the scenes in an airport and on the airplane to prepare for flights.
At your next meal time, talk to your family members about whether they have any favorite travel memories.
Was food involved? Was there a favorite thing you liked to eat on an airplane or at the airport?
Are there any funny or not-so-favorite memories?
Discover how common things in your grocery store are related to air and space travel.
Space food comes in packaging like a pouch that can be thrown away once the food inside has been eaten. This is like the applesauce and yogurt pouches you make pack in your lunchboxes.
Tang was developed by General Foods and later used by NASA in the Mercury food system. Astronauts on the International Space Station still drink it to this day. It is an excellent source of vitamin C1
Astronauts on the International Space Station have been eating tortillas since 1985. They aren't crumbly like bread, they are flat so don't take up a lot of space and they are good for you.
In the early days of airplane flight, there was no way to heat food or drink. Coffee was brought on board in a thermos to keep it hot.
When airplane travel was still new, paper plates were used to serve food because regular plates would break during the bumpy ride.
Your smell and taste senses change when you are travelling on an airplane, because of how high you are in the sky. Airplane chefs have to use a lot of spices and sauces to make food taste better on airplanes.
Soar Together at Air and Space is made possible by the generous support of Northrop Grumman.