Curious Scientific Investigators (CSI): FLIGHT ADVENTURES
by Rachelle Haughn [email protected]
Model airplanes, kids, and a movie could be the perfect storm to breed a new generation of aviation enthusiasts. The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) has partnered with The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis to create a new multimedia show and experience titled Curious Scientific Investigators (CSI): Flight Adventures. The Indianapolis experience includes model aircraft displays, hands-on activities, and a planetarium film. Funded through a NASA Competitive Program for Science Museums and Planetariums grant, it was scheduled to open to the public on February 25, 2012. AMA officials hope the partnership will interest more youngsters in aeromodeling, AMA, and aviation careers.
Partnership and purpose
“The coolest thing is the partnership with the AMA,” said Rick Crosslin, school liaison for science learning at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Gordon Schimmel, AMA Education Scholarship Committee chairman, said, “I think it’s going to be more than what we hoped it would be.”
Rick and Gordon developed the concept for the show and exhibits. “I’m hopeful people will go through that [and come to the National Model Aviation Museum]. It’s kind of a perfect storm for our museum. It’s a very hands-on experience in model aviation,” said Bill Pritchett, AMA’s education director. Bill added that information about the National Model Aviation Museum, located at AMA Headquarters in Muncie, Indiana, and AMA enrollment will be displayed at the Indianapolis museum.
Exhibit components
The multimedia show and exhibit consists of several pieces throughout The Children’s Museum. Some aspects will be rotated in and out, but others will remain for years, children’s museum CEO and president Dr. Jeffrey H. Patchen said. Key components include:
- A planetarium movie titled CSI: Flight Adventures.
- A costumed interpreter who interacts with children and families.
- Special programs in the SciencePort area.
- A wind tunnel and hands-on interactive area.
- A display of historic models, including a full-scale replica of Octave Chanute’s 1896 glider.
- Flight Discovery Stations where kids can construct model airplanes and test how they fly.
- Public, family, and school events.
The AMA’s newest program, AMA Flight School, is expected to be available on computers at the Indianapolis museum for children to try.
Education and curriculum
The project focuses on education and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). “The project is really program-heavy and exhibit light,” Rick explained. He and Gordon created a curriculum guide for teachers to use with students in grades three through five. The 68-page booklet includes information about the science of flight and guidelines to design, build, test, and fly a model aircraft.
As a way to introduce the program to Indiana teachers, an educator networking night was scheduled for February 16 at the museum; roughly 500 teachers were expected to attend. “We will make a presentation [at the event],” Bill said. “It gets this [program] into a classroom where it could create a demand for field trips, both there and here [in Muncie].”
“The biggest thing is going to be the awareness to teachers,” Rick said. “You know I’m a science cheerleader. It’s a win-win situation. We need to get young people involved so [aeronautics] does not die out.”
“I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for promoting the role that model aviation has in history and education in general, and it will excite kids to become engaged in aviation,” Bill added.
Interested teachers were to receive copies of the film Flight Adventures and the curriculum guide. A special website has been created for teachers, teacher workshops will be held, and a field trip to the National Model Aviation Museum for educators is being planned.
Film, television special, and media
Flight Adventures was filmed in the summer of 2011 and produced in partnership with WFYI. Shooting locations included the National Model Aviation Museum and an airport. Michael Smith, National Model Aviation Museum director, served as a script advisor. In the portion filmed at the Muncie museum, Sir George Cayley (the “Father of Aviation”) comes to life and gives the main character, Artie, a tour of the museum. Artie learns about models in the film and rides in a full-scale airplane with her grandfather.
The project also includes an hour-long television special titled Wings over Indiana, a special episode of Indiana Expeditions. Rick Crosslin is the host; the special was scheduled to air March 1 on Indianapolis public television station WFYI. Rick’s television special was set to be shown February 16 at the educator networking night and February 25–26 at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
Rick traveled across the country to film the television special in locations such as:
- The sand dunes of North Carolina
- Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana
- The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (now Armstrong Flight Research Center) in Palmdale, California
- Various public schools
- The 2011 AMA Nats at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie
Models, equipment, and grant funding
Michael Smith helped locate model airplanes for the movie and loaned some models on display at the National Model Aviation Museum to The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. The NASA-owned models included the Mothership, the X-33 drop test model, and the Moth.
With money from the $597,000 grant, The Children’s Museum purchased special equipment needed to show a movie in the planetarium. Flight Adventures was expected to be played several times a day while patron interest remained.
“The film is specifically aimed to inspire kids to want to fly airplanes, and to see that models and things that they fly today . . . could lead to careers in aviation,” Gordon said.
Hands-on activities and takeaways
Besides watching the movie, visitors can create flying objects and try them out in a wind tunnel Rick built. The hands-on activities are designed for children of all ages. For those who want to test models at home, “They have Jetstreams in the museum store and we have Foam Plate Gliders (FPG-9s) for sale,” Bill said. “I think it's good for kids to learn how to put things together with their two little hands.”
Jeffrey said CSI: Flight Adventures is a permanent exhibit at the children’s museum. Permanent exhibits typically have a lifespan of 10 to 20 years. “As long as there is an interest from our visitors, we will accommodate,” he wrote. “The multimedia show (as shown in our planetarium) will be available for other planetariums and dome screens across the country in the summer of 2012 and beyond.”
Origins and collaboration
Rick and Gordon met in winter 2009 in Washington, D.C., as part of a committee that reviewed proposals for NASA grants. They realized the world’s largest children’s museum and the national headquarters for the AMA were located about an hour apart and felt it would be a wonderful opportunity for people to experience both. They decided to apply for a NASA grant to create the educational program.
“I've always believed aeromodeling isn't as prominently emphasized [in terms of careers] as space exploration,” Gordon said. “The one thing that a child can actually grasp is a model,” Rick added.
Jeffrey wrote that the museum “has developed a wonderful and productive working relationship with the AMA and believe the partnership has created a richer and deeper experience for our visitors.”
Bill noted The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis receives about one million visitors per year. “Its traffic is huge. We’re hopeful that people will go through that and realize, Muncie isn’t too far away,” he said. AMA and children’s museum officials have been working on an agreement for AMA members to receive discounted admission to the Indianapolis museum, and vice versa.
—Rachelle Haughn [email protected]
SOURCES
- Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
(317) 334-3322 www.childrensmuseum.org
- National Model Aviation Museum
(765) 287-1256 www.modelaircraft.org/museum
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
