Made an official holiday by a presidential decree, National Aviation Week will be celebrating its 86th anniversary this August. It’s a tradition that both reflects on America’s aerospace history and takes pride in how far aviation—and mankind—have come. With hundreds of ways to show your STEM spirit, we’re making sure to highlight a few to put on your itinerary (and inspire your best week back to school).
What Is National Aviation Week?
On December 17th, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright made history. Defying the American imagination, they flew their heavier-than-air machines at 120 feet in the sky, for a full twelve seconds. In those few moments, the Wright brothers succeeded in a mission they’d dedicated four years to accomplishing, and changed the world of travel forever.
Orville Wright’s birthday marks the beginning of National Aviation Week, on August 19th. But it’s more than a week of remembrance for past inventions; it’s a chance to celebrate the possibilities of STEM, and a reminder that our boldest ideas can lead to discoveries that power our futures—though, not without a few failed tries.
The Wright brothers’ invention evolved through multiple unsuccessful iterations. It wasn’t the idea of flight that invented airplanes, but the applications of STEM principles and processes: the science of observing how winged animals could glide through the air, the mathematical precision of creating a force greater than gravity, the engineering of an aerodynamic machine, and the technology that could control the direction of the aircraft—as well as plenty of fortitude.
National Aviation Week serves as a time to acknowledge the potential in all of us. Any person with the right combination of STEM skills and a mind driven by curiosity and grit has the capacity to turn dreams into inventions.
Discover the Air Capital of the World
Did you know that Wichita, Kansas is known as the “Air Capital of the World”? What better way to celebrate National Aviation week than to spend a day exploring the Kansas Aviation Museum, located in Wichita, at the original Wichita Municipal Airport Terminal Building!
Each exhibit is a vessel for immersion and inspiration. Get a bird’s eye view of the museum’s outdoor planes and functioning McConnell Air Force Base in the air traffic control towers. Or step back in time and marvel at Louise Thaden’s award-winning Travel Air plane, from 1929. Take a moment to meet the women of aviation, and prepare to hold your breath when you learn of the fearlessness that led a few of them to earn the title “Wing Walker”.
After a full day of looking back on aviation history, looking out at vintage plane models, looking up at the sky—and trying not to look down—look ahead to September 19th, when the National Aviation Hall of Fame will be inducting modern trailblazers of aviation into the Hall. Who knows: maybe their innovations will spark ideas that’ll make you a future inductee!
Celebrate Aviation in the Classroom or at Home
One of the best ways to honor a week of ideation and invention is to get creative with some aviation-themed projects of your own. So once your kids have done the research on different kinds of aircrafts, expanded their vocabulary to include terms like “fuselage” and “yaw”, and studied the evolving uses of planes, take some time for them to get hands-on.
Project 1: Design Your Own Aircraft
The sky’s the limit for possibility here—but be sure to let it guide your students too! Have them turn popsicle sticks into propellers and pipe-cleaners into a foundation for wings. They want to make a purple cockpit? Go for it—get creative. Just remember to have them take time to reflect on the design. Ask your students to consider these questions:
- What makes some materials better for the design than others?
- Is your aircraft modeled after a big commercial plane or something more compact, like a drone?
- What missions might your aircraft be used for?
And If you’re looking for a buildable aircraft activity that has all the parts included, try our award-winning Drone Maker Kit. It’s an engineering, math, science, and technology project all in one, and it’ll keep the spirit of National Aviation Week soaring all year long.
Project 2: Have a Paper Airplane Contest
Challenge your kids to put their knowledge of aerodynamics to the test. With a few pieces of paper (and then a few more), they can prove their plane really goes the distance—or coasts through the air into a series of loop-de-loops instead. If you’re really looking for kids to flex their STEM brains, turn the contest into an experiment. Do certain types of paper affect how the airplane flies? Investigate why or why not. Do you notice that the force of your throw impacts the plane’s flight trajectory? Determine the sweet spot of force to optimize distance.
Project 3: Try Out a Flight Simulator
If video games shift your kids’ excitement into gear, encourage them to spend some time as a mock pilot. There are plenty of free flight simulator options that let kids experience the role of a plane, helicopter, and even spacecraft pilot. They can engage with variables like air traffic and control panels, and enjoy the scenery from above while at home.
Where There’s Sky, There’s Inspiration
No matter where you find yourself during National Aviation Week, be sure to take the excitement of aerospace back to the classroom. Whether trying out a flight-themed project or discussing the evolution of aircrafts—from early plane models to cutting-edge drone tech—dedicate an extra moment to appreciate gravity-defying STEM with your students.
To celebrate National Aviation Week with even more hands-on fun, try out one of our flyable drone kits or explore our full line of curriculum and activities for Aerospace.