The Big Blue Balloon Adventure

Mick Inkpen’s engaging story “The Blue Balloon” sets the scene for a discovery tour through the Museum. At each stop, children will look for three-dimensional shapes within the aircraft structures and graph their observations. After a refreshing snack break, the children will enter our Aircraft Inventor’s Workshop, build their own flying machines and try on cool costumes.

Grade
Preschool
Subject
Mathematics, Science and Technology
Cost
$5.00 per student (minimum fee of $100)
Group size
Max. 25 students
Chaperones
Minimum of 6 adult chaperones per group (free)
Capacity
Two groups concurrently
Duration
100 minutes (includes snack time)

Program Description

After reading “The Blue Balloon” by Mick Inkpen, the children will set out on a discovery tour to visit a variety of aircraft where we count wings, windows and wheels, and identify some of the shapes we see on airplanes.

Snack Time (bring your own or order from our catering service at an additional cost).

In our Aircraft Inventor’s Workshop, children will put their problem-solving skills to the test, imagining themselves as early aircraft inventors trying to build their very own flying machines.

Curriculum Links

For children in kindergarten/preschool, going on a field trip is, in and of itself, an experience that meets curriculum expectations. While all of our programs offer benefits and connections to various areas of the curriculum, we’ve noted some of the primary connections below.

Mathematics, Science and Technology

Essential Knowledges

Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies

Observing
Exploring
Experimenting

Learnings Related to Cognitive Development

Mathematics
– counting games
Science and technology
– experimentation games
– observations and manipulation of objects

Source Document: Québec Education Program, Preschool Education

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 2–2 ½ 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.

A child’s first field trip is usually something parents don’t want to miss. In recognition of this special time, we welcome all parent volunteers free of charge for our kindergarten/preschool programs.

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-Visit Activity Suggestions

Download the Activity Kit PDF

Ask the class to share their experience with museums and/or aviation. Has anyone visited a museum before? Has anyone flown on an airplane?

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 17: Connect the Dots
Practice the alphabet with your class and create a passenger jet picture to colour.

Page 19: The Main Parts of an Airplane
Introduce your class to some basic aviation vocabulary by colouring different parts of the aircraft. We suggest removing some of the aircraft parts listed on the master document, in order to focus on simpler pieces such as the fuselage, landing gear, propeller and wings.

Page 22: Parts that Control Airplane Movement
Talk about the three main control surfaces, and colour each part of the aircraft a different colour. The fill-in-the-blanks section can be easily removed for simplification, or could be used for exceptional students with advanced reading/writing skills.

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.

The Big Blue Balloon Adventure $5.00 $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.