Focus on Education - 2003/06

June 2003 161
FREQUENTLY I receive telephone calls
and E-mails telling me of things that clubs
and teachers are doing to promote model
aviation in the classroom and during afterschool
programs.
While these clubs and teachers are
participating in worthwhile endeavors, it
seems many of them are working in a
vacuum. Many are unaware that there are
others attempting to do the same things.
This is one reason that the Education
Committee created the Web site
www.buildandfly.com. The committee
wanted to provide a tool that would allow
people who were currently involved in
aviation education programs to share their
efforts with others.
The place to do that on the Web site is
under the “program registration” button. Fill
out the form with the information requested
and click on the submit button. Keep in mind
that the submission is not immediate.
You will not see your program appear on
the site until I have had a chance to review it.
Depending upon my travel schedule, that
usually takes roughly a week.
Programs that are accepted are entered
into a searchable database, which allows
those looking for programs to search the
database using the “program search” page. A
short search form with several fields
including keyword, type of aircraft,
suggested age, and cost will allow you to see
the programs that correspond to your needs.
At this time, there are only a handful of
programs in the registry. I wish there were
more, but I do not believe many people are
aware of the site.
If you have received funds for a Youth
Education Stipend (YES grant), and your
program is still active, please fill out a form
and register it. I can think of no better way to
share your success.
If you have trouble with either the
program registration or the program search,
please contact me so I can help.
I want to let you know what the Education
Committee has been involved with since
January 1999. We have participated in three
AMA Conventions in Pasadena, California,
four National Science Teachers Association
(NSTA) national conventions, and two
NSTA regional conventions.
Members or representatives of the
committee attended a National Congress on
Aviation and Space Education (NCASE),
two Science Olympiad nationals, and three
Technology Students Association
conferences.
Appearances at an Information and
Communication Technologies in Education
(ICTE) conference and two KidVenture
programs at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, complete
the list.
At the AMA Conventions, members of
the Black Sheep Squadron from Southern
California have been outdoing themselves
each year by putting on a Delta Dart makeand-
take program that would bring tears to
your eyes. It is not uncommon for a large
group of people to be standing in line,
waiting to build and fly airplanes. This past
January, we had to configure an area just to
accommodate people waiting.
Teachers are like aircraft carriers; they
are force multipliers. However, if you want
to talk to teachers, you must go where the
teachers go.
At an NSTA national convention, you can
expect 10,000-12,000 teachers in attendance
during a three- or four-day period. Imagine
how many kids you can reach if you connect
with only half of those teachers?
At an NSTA regional conference, you
might see 6,000-8,000 teachers, but think
about it—6,000-8,000 teachers! They can
certainly reach many children!
The National Congress on Aviation and
Space Education is a Civil Air Patrol event
that is also well-attended by teachers. At both
NSTA and NCASE events, we provide
teachers with information about
aeromodeling-education programs, show
them how to find mentors, and we teach them
how to use model airplanes in the classroom.
We offer build-and-fly sessions right at
our booth every day, all day long. This
allows them to stop in at their leisure (and
they certainly don’t have much of that) and
learn how to build a variety of simple
models.
We teach the teachers how to trim their
airplanes for successful flights. I have seldom
seen a teacher leave one of these sessions
who wasn’t bursting with excitement about
the things he or she was going to do when
they got back to their classroom.
One of our committee members, Tom
Sanders, is our link to the Science Olympiad-
Wright Stuff event. It has been a hugely
successful national event involving hundreds
of school teams and thousands of
participants each year. If you are a teacher or
you know a teacher who wants to start a
team or wants to find a member, please
contact me.
Tom is also our link to the Technology
Student Association, a national non-profit
organization devoted exclusively to the
needs of elementary-, middle-, and highschool
students with a dedicated interest in
technology.
Charlie Bauer, Education Committee
member and District VI Vice President, is
our liaison with the ICTE Conference. This
conference provides a presentation and
discussion platform for new educational
environments and their applications.
Approximately 4,500 people attended our
booth at the EAA’s KidVenture at Oshkosh
in five days. While we didn’t provide buildand-
fly sessions in the booth, we did display
a Remotely Controlled Airplane
Demonstrator (RCAD) and provide Radio
Control flight training on a simulator.
The Education Committee has also been
involved with outreach programs through the
National Model Aviation Museum during the
last few years, participating in classroom
demonstrations, fairs, and exhibits in the
local community.
The Education Committee’s schedule for
2003-2004 has been tentatively planned.
Events that will have concluded by the time
you read this include the Indiana Parks and
Recreation Department meeting in mid-
March, the National Science Teachers
Association National Convention in late
March, and the National Congress on
Aviation and Space Education in early April.
Following are some events planned for
Education Committee endeavors in the
future:
Education Committee Meeting
Indianapolis, Indiana
May 12, 2003
Inventing Flight: The Centennial Celebration
Dayton, Ohio
July 7-20, 2003
Education Committee Meeting
Location to be determined
October 13, 2003
National Science Teachers Association
Regional Convention
Minneapolis, Minnesota
October 30-November 1, 2003
First Flight Centennial Celebration
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
December 13-17, 2003
National Science Teachers Association
National Convention
Atlanta, Georgia
April 1-4, 2004
Focus on Education
Jack Frost
AMA Education
Coordinator
Tel.: (765) 287-1256
Ext. 515
[email protected]
www.buildandfly.com
e d u c a t i o n t h r o u g h a v i a t i o n
b u i l d a n d f l y . c om