Flight

How do aircraft fly? Through a combination of interactive demonstrations and hands-on experiments, students will learn about the properties of air that make flight possible, as well as the four key forces which get a plane into the air and help keep it there. The program also includes a tour of the collection.

Grade
Elementary Cycle Three
Subject
Science and Technology
Cost
$6.00 per student (minimum fee of $100)
Group size
Max. 28 students
Chaperones
Minimum of 6 adult chaperones per group (free)
Capacity
Two groups concurrently
Duration
120 minutes

Program Description

The program starts with three interactive demonstrations on the properties of air: air takes up space, air has mass, and air expands when heated. Students then experiment with the Venturi effect in a mini-workshop, followed by an interactive demonstration designed to familiarize them with the four forces of flight.

The second portion of the program takes students on an interactive guided tour of the collection. Students will observe and discuss aircraft shape, size and choice of materials, as well as the design of wings, engines and propellers, and will explore how these elements affect the four forces of flight and the aircraft’s purpose. The impact of aircraft on society will also be discussed on the tour as students look at sound attenuation technologies and think about how to build a “greener” aircraft.

The final portion of the program allows students to sit in the cockpit of our Cessna 150 and operate its controls as we discuss the various control surfaces and how they affect the flight of an aircraft. A kite-building workshop is included, in which students make “Bell’s Cells”: replica cells from a kite invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

Curriculum Links

Science and Technology

Essential Knowledges

Material World: Forces and Motion

Pressure (e.g. pressure in a balloon, airplane wing)

Material World: Systems and Interaction

Transportation technology

Material World: Techniques and Instrumentation

Design and manufacture of instruments, tools, machines, structures, devices, models and simple circuits.

Source Document: Québec Education Program: Mathematics, Science and Technology

Teacher Tips

Remember: to help plan your trip, teachers are entitled to a free pass. Please call our reservation office to request yours today!

To get the most out of your experience, we recommend that you arrange your bus schedule so that you can spend 2 ½ – 3 hours at the Museum. This will give you an opportunity to visit more of the collection on your own, take health breaks, enjoy snacks or lunches, visit the boutique, etc.

Remember to bring a large bag or bags to carry home your class’s creations, and a camera to document the fun!

Staying for lunch? Please ask our reservation office about table/lunchroom availability, as well as our catering service.

Pre and Post-Visit Activity Suggestions

Download the Activity Kit PDF

The Canada Aviation and Space Museum’s Student Activity Kit has multi-age activities that can be easily modified to suit your class. Download our Activity Kit and consider trying the activities below.

Page 20: The Main Parts of an Airplane
Introduce your class to some basic aviation vocabulary by filling in the different parts of the aircraft.

Page 22: Parts that Control Airplane Movement
Talk about the three main control surfaces, and colour each part of the aircraft a different colour.

Page 23: The Four Forces of Flight
Use this sheet as either a pre-visit introduction or a post-visit review.

Pages 24–26 The Memory Game
Give the class a sneak peek at the Museum by letting them play our memory game. Instructions for the game are at the start of the document, along with a brief history of each aircraft. The aircraft histories could also be used for language arts activities.

Fees and Reservations

Make a Reservation

Please make your reservation at least three weeks in advance by calling 613-993-4264 or click on the Reserve button to fill out an online reservation request. Please allow a minimum of 48 hours for our response.

Program fees are per person and include taxes. All accompanying adults per group are admitted free. Payment may be made in advance or on arrival by cash, credit card, debit, or cheque made payable to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

Fees
Program Per student* Minimum Fee

*Please note that all prices are subject to change without notice.

Flight $6.00 $100

Cancellation Fees

A cancellation fee of $80 per school program will be charged for cancellations made less than 48 hours before the scheduled date of the program. For a program cancelled with more than 48 hours notice, a $20 administration fee will apply, unless the program is rescheduled within the same school year. In the case of school bus cancellation due to inclement weather, this fee will not apply if a school reschedules the cancelled program within the same school year.