Month:

What Materials Make Up the Apollo VII?

  • September 9

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

Can We Figure Out Which End is Which in the Engine of the Blackbird?

  • September 9

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

How is a Jet Engine Different from Other Engines?

  • September 9

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

What Does it Mean to “Circumnavigate”?

  • September 9

Amelia Earhart was an American aviator who mysteriously disappeared in 1937 while trying to circumnavigate the globe from the equator. Earhart was the 16th woman to be issued a pilot’s license. She had several notable flights, including becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928, as well as the first person to fly over both the Atlantic and Pacific. Here, we explore what is meant, mathematically, by the term “circumnavigation.” Supplementary Activity Guides to extend... CONTINUE READING

What Materials Did the Wright Brothers use to Build the Flyer-and Why?

  • September 9

Design is often fueled by the designers’ experiences and in the case of the Wright Brothers, their background in bicycle repair shaped their design of the Flyer. Here, we observe the Flyer exhibit at the museum and make connections to bicycles – so you can think of the Flyer as a flying bicycle in some ways! Supplementary Activity Guides to extend student learning at the Frontiers of Flight Museum for K-12 grade levels are freely available here:... CONTINUE READING

How is Spaceship One Uniquely Designed to Achieve its Goals?

  • September 9

SpaceShipOne is a rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s). Its unique design features a “feathering” atmospheric reentry system where the rear half of the wing and the twin tail booms fold 70 degrees upward. Watch the video to understand the function of this unique design. Also, learn how you can do a simple experiment at home to see the rationale behind this design. Supplementary Activity Guides to extend student learning at th... CONTINUE READING

How to Measure Change in Musical Pitch?

  • September 9

We love playing the xylophone at the outdoor Soundscape. It's both fun and also a great opportunity to really understand what we mean by frequency or pitch. Also, we wondered if there is a mathematical relationship between length of bars and pitch. Finally we got to explore what happens to pitch when we played xylophones made of different materials! Supplementary Activity Guides for this video to extend student learning for K-12 grade levels are freely available here: https://talkstem.org/talkst... CONTINUE READING