We wonder what the maximum number of people is that could fit on board the 737 people we are walking through at the museum? How can we come up with a good estimate? We use number arrays to come up with our estimate and walk you through our thinking. Supplementary Activity Guides to extend student learning at the Frontiers of Flight Museum for K-12 grade levels are freely available here:... CONTINUE READING
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps, a precursor of the U.S. Air Force. They flew more than 15,000 individual sorties in Europe and North Africa during World War II. Their performance earned them more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and helped encourage the eventual integration of the U.S. armed forces. In this video we explore the symmetries we can observe as we explore a model of the airplane these heroes flew. Supplementary Activity Gui... CONTINUE READING
Here, we compare this specialized jet engine to a car engine and other more common engines most of us are familiar with. Supplementary Activity Guides to extend student learning at the Frontiers of Flight Museum for K-12 grade levels are freely available here: https://www.flightmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/walkSTEM@FOFM-Teacher-Guide_FINAL.pdf We inv... CONTINUE READING
As we observe the engine of the Blackbird jet, an airplane capable of supersonic speed, we wonder if we can figure out, using our observational powers alone, which end is the front and which end is the rear of the engine? It's fun to figure out – and in the process, we notice and learn a good amount about the structure of an engine. Supplementary Activity Guides to extend student learning at the Frontiers of Flight Museum for K-12 grade levels are freely available here:... CONTINUE READING
We notice that the bottom surface of the Command Module of the Apollo VII space mission looks different from the material making up the rest of the module. We learn that this difference is a critical part of the design of the module that brought home the crew of 3 astronauts in 1968. Further, the heat shield material that was developed for the command module’s bottom surface is now something we use in everyday life – great example of innovation that ends up being used far more widely than an... CONTINUE READING
The Command Module of the Apollo VII mission has a truncated cone shape which was essential to its goals of leaving the earth's atmosphere and then safely re-entering the atmosphere to bring its crew back to Earth in 1968. Here, we wonder how the shape of the module was an important aspect of its design and learn about cone shapes, air resistance, and surface area. Supplementary Activity Guides to extend student learning at the Frontiers of Flight Museum for K-12 grade levels are freely availabl... CONTINUE READING
The Flying Pancake is a fun name for a unique airplane that is no longer in use. We wonder as to why this aircraft was designed to have a flat wing-like body giving it such a large surface area? We explore this unique design and come to understand how this design met its goals but also came at a cost. Supplementary Activity Guides to extend student learning at the Frontiers of Flight Museum for K-12 grade levels are freely available here:... CONTINUE READING
Here, we observe the scale model of the Beal Rocket and wonder how we can estimate the height of this scale model and thereby estimating the height of the actual rocket using some simple and fun math detective work. We ended up coming very close to the actual height! Supplementary Activity Guides to extend student learning at the Frontiers of Flight Museum for K-12 grade levels are freely available here:... CONTINUE READING
Design is often fueled by the designers’ experiences and in the case of the Wright Brothers, their background in bicycle repair and their interest in birdwatching shaped their design of the Flyer. Here, we observe the Flyer exhibit at the museum and make connections to bicycles and birds! Supplementary Activity Guides to extend student learning at the Frontiers of Flight Museum for K-12 grade levels are freely available here:... CONTINUE READING