The Pylon Place - May 2011
Aviation Museums - Education and Community Contribution
The best hands-on exhibit is flight in a general aviation aircraft. (Steve Wallace, Planes of Fame)By Marilyn Dash
An Aviation Museum brought me to flight. My entire flying career can be traced to that fateful day when I walked into the Hiller Aviation Museum and volunteered. I’ve told the story many times how Stan Hiller took a special interest in inspiring me to become a pilot. With his nudging and the opportunity to meet so many pilots who were available to teach, share, and inspire – I was on my way.
Since then, I have travelled to many other Aviation Museums around the country and have found so many reasons to dedicate this month’s column to these museums, their volunteers and the programs they have in place today to inspire our youth to dream of aviation as a career or just a passion.
Hiller Aviation Museum
Since the beginning, Hiller has had hands-on programs for kids, scout troops and adults who are still kids at heart. In the beginning, we had monthly model airplane contests – also known as Flight Nights – which were a hoot. Using rubber-band powered airplanes from kits, volunteers helped the kids put these kits together and then make adjustments for better flight characteristics. Group participation was applauded and awards were given. And there was an open division – for us older kids, however I never won.
They have incorporated additional programs for after-school aviators –special adventures for kids. These programs meet weekly to visit different areas of interest including navigation, aerospace, historic and military aviation.
Their aviation day camps are week-long summer programs focused on different areas of aviation. Each includes hands-on activities and flying models as well as aircraft demonstrations, games and much more.
The Flight Sim Zone has been an enormous hit. The set up allows for an instructor to work with a group of young aviators and teach them about flight planning and navigation, then allowing them to use flight simulators to fly their flight plans over the SF Bay Area. Basically taking a toy or game and making it more relevant by adding an educational element.
The Speaker Programs have drawn so many of the local residents to the museum. Speakers have included Tuskegee Airmen, Les Williams; Brian Shul of SR-71 fame; Burt Rutan and his SpaceShipOne; Rex Wilhelm, shuttle astronaut and local hero; and additional programs on the Constellation, Saturn V, Naval Aviation, Starlab, Flying in Alaska etc., etc., etc.,
The future holds so much more. The plans for additional hands-on exhibits on weather, engines and propulsion, as well as how airports work are all in the planning stages. Every day, they have the chance to inspire the next aviators, aerospace engineers, astronauts, test pilots, or private pilot.
Smithsonian – National Air and Space + Udvar Hazy
Imagine living close enough to the Smithsonian Institute and the National Air and Space Museum or the Udvar Hazy Center. Not all of us are lucky enough to be in their general area, but the Smithsonian has fixed that by creating electronic field trips and educational videoconferencing programs. Other online activities include airplane anatomy, geography from space, development of commercial aviation and many more. These programs enable educators to use technology to bring this information to the classroom – wherever that classroom may be.
Planes of Fame
Craig Hoskings’ Double Take performed inverted take-offs and landings and now hangs in The Learning Center at Planes of Fame. (Steve Wallace)The Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, CA has joined forces with San Bernadino County to jointly support their airshow each year. This year will celebrate the Centennial of Naval Aviation. 100 years ago Eugene Burton Ely landed his Curtiss Pusher aboard the USS Pennsylvania and, after having lunch with the Captain, proceeded to fly back to shore, hence, the birth of Naval Aviation. This year’s celebration will include representative aircraft, and a panel of US Navy Veterans being moderated by Jonna Doolittle Hoppes.
The County of San Bernadino understands how much the museum and the airshow bring to the community by way of revenue and employment – they are upgrading the airport and adding new hangar space. The airshow brings tens of thousands of visitors to the area each year which helps the local area businesses.
When it comes to educational programs, the museum has made serious strides in the last few years with their Hands on Aviation Center. Some of the exhibits include: – The History of Military Photography, Women in Aviation (WASPs) and a 45 seat multiplex theatre to share videos or presentations.
Interactive kiosks include – aircraft engine sounds, the Wright brothers bicycle shop, equipment to teach aircraft building techniques including clecos and rivets. There is also a rocket launcher exhibit and two flight simulators linked together with an ATC controller communication link to make the experience even more realistic.
National Museum of the US Air Force
One of the best virtual tours I have ever seen would be the National Museum of the US Air Force. You can walk through the entire museum – gallery by gallery - and click on the different exhibits for additional information. This tour is incredibly well done.
They’ve created lesson plans for educators to use, school programs, and resource guides, everything you would need. And they have not only created educational programs for kids, they have museum lecture series for adults as well. There is always something for an aviator to do on a rainy day.
Girls with Wings
Outside of museums, other programs are available, including Girls with Wings. Lynda Meeks took it upon herself to create a place for girls to learn about aviation. I have been lucky enough to be asked to help at one of her events and walked away with a permanent smile. Lynda takes the group through a process where they all learn about each instrument on the aircraft panel and through hands-on exercises, discover what each of the instruments mean and how it is used. The summation is a group of inspired young ladies who now believe they can be pilots – when 90 minutes before, they never would have considered it.
Universal Programs
Some programs are available at nearly all aviation museums. These include merit programs available for scout troops. Programs are set up to assist Boy Scouts in earning their aviation and weather merit badges and the Girl Scouts to earn their aviation patch.
The Young Eagles program has been around since 1992 and works with the local EAA Chapters to give interested young people (ages 8-17) the opportunity to fly in a general aviation airplane. These flights are provided free of charge and are made possible by the local EAA chapter members. Since the inception, more than 1.6 million kids have been flying with over 42,000 volunteer pilots. It is another incredible program designed to share our passion and inspire others.
Call To Action
In one word…inspire! Inspire someone, old or young – male or female – to learn more about aviation and maybe become a pilot, a mechanic, an engineer, a designer, etc.,
Support your local aviation museums; there are several museums in all 50 states. Find the one or two or ten closest to you and venture out there on a sunny day. Learn what programs they have to inspire others and become part of the culture. Volunteer if you can. You will gain so much more than you give. I am proof of that.
Photos…
Future 747 Pilot
Caption – What would it take to inspire the next great pilot?
Kids USCG
The Coast Guard Helicopter stopped by to give the Camp Kids a tour.
Learning Center
Aviation Museums are a great place to transfer information from one generation to the next
Cardinal Girl
The best Hands-on exhibit is a flight in a general aviation aircraft.
