National Air and Space Museum -- Guided Tours

Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building
Grades: K–3
Availability: Tuesday (limit 60 students), Wednesday (limit 50 students), and Friday (limit 30 students)

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, www.nasm.si.edu/wrightbrothers.

Online Resource: Milestones of Flight exhibition, The Wright Brothers & The Invention of the Aerial Age exhibition.

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Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building
Grades: 4–12
Availability: Tuesday (limit 45 students) and Friday (limit 30 students)

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 www.nasm.si.edu/blackwings.

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Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building

Grades: 4–12
Availability: Tuesday (limit 30 students) and Thursday (limit 30 students)

Description: Gain a new understanding of our environment by learning how we have observed our world from such vantage points as balloons, airplanes, and spacecraft. See a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft and models of the Landsat and GOES weather satellites. Discuss the impact they have had on Earth studies. A teaching poster on remote sensing, sent free of charge with your tour confirmation, includes a lesson plan that supports National Education Standards for middle and high school life science and science and technology.
Online Resources: Reflections on Earth: Exploring Earth from Space Teaching Poster; Center for Earth and Planetary Studies; Looking At Earth exhibition.

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Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building

Grades: 3–8
Availability: Wednesday (limit 75 students), Thursday (limit 30 students), and Friday (limit 30 students)

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 Cyber Center; Exploring the Planets Teaching Poster; Exploring The Planets exhibition.

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Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building

Grades: 4–12
Availability: Tuesday (limit 75 students), Wednesday (limit 75 students), Thursday (limit 60 students), and Friday (limit 30 students)

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 Cyber Center, Explore The Universe exhibition.

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Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building

Grades: 4–12
Availability: Wednesday (limit 75 students)

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 Cyber Center, Explore The Universe exhibition.

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Location: National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building

Grades: 4–12
Availability: Tuesday (limit 80 students), Wednesday (limit 80 students), and Thursday (limit 60 students)

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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