Museum Lesson Plan for Grades 3-5
Objectives:
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To introduce students to science, technology and leaders of aviation
To introduce students to American Airlines and the aviation industry
To introduce students to flight as a mode of transportation
To introduce students to forces and motion of flight
Students will be introduced to air travel and the basics of flight. They will discover the power of air by
exploring how an airplane moves through our atmosphere. This complex machine is an integrated
system of pulleys, gears, screws, wheels and axles that allow the airline industry to move people and
cargo all over the world. Then take our design challenge where students can create and test flying
machines.
Pre-Museum Materials:
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Picture of an airplane with highlighted parts
Notable history and fact sheets
Scavenger Hunt
Museum Map
TEKS and Post-Visit Questions
Before your visit to the museum, you may want to have a general discussion with your class about your
field trip. We encourage you and group leaders to tour the museum to prepare for your museum visit
and tour, however we have included a museum map in this packet for you to reference. This guide also
includes a copy of the scavenger hunt and workshop activities for your trip. You may want to review and
introduce your students to the following terms and questions they will explore at the museum:
What is a force?
What are different ways we travel?
Simple Machines especially wheels, pulleys,
gears and screws
What do airplanes carry?
Properties of Air
What helps an airplane fly?
What is an airport?
What is a museum and what do museums
have?
Activities:
There will be several stations that students may explore during their visit including our Museum Movie,
The Pursuit of Flight, and our Museum Exhibits. Your group may select from additional self-guided and
guided program offerings including Scavenger Hunt, DC-3 Plane Tour and Museum Education Classroom
Stations. Scavenger hunts and plane tours can be included (with advance notice) in your group tour at
no additional cost, however build workshops led by museum staff will have additional costs depending
on group size.
SCAVENGER HUNT
Our Aviators Scavenger Hunt allows students to explore all areas of the museum. Groups may complete
in teams, individually or with a group leader. For the scavenger hunt, we have divided the museum into
FIVE sections with information about each section.
The FIVE sections include:
Flight Lab
Flagship Knoxville DC-3 Hangar
Maintaining the Fleet
History Circle
Entrance Exhibits/Remembrance Exhibit
Flight Lab
Our Flight Lab area begins with our LIFT WINDTUNNEL and ends with our DFW AIRPORT MODEL. There
are many interactives in this area for students to explore the different forces that affect an airplane,
navigation paths and routes, city airport codes, historic and current etching station, jet engines and
thrust, an interesting Cargo mural and an airport model for students to explore functions at an airport.
We have a flight simulator, however due to our staff, it is not available for large groups. Students are
welcome to visit the museum with their families or in smaller groups to enjoy this exhibit.
Maintaining the Fleet
This section explores what it takes to maintain and keep aircraft safe and functioning. We have three
historic engines in this area as well as landing gear from a 727 aircraft. This section also describes the
different maintenance checks an airplane must go through to keep it safe to fly.
History Circle
The history circle is divided into a timeline starting with the beginning of American Airlines in 1934 and
ending at present day on the inside of Circle Theater. See historic artifacts, advertisements and stories
through the history of commercial aviation and American Airlines. On the top orange line of the history
circle are significant events in world and US history. Throughout the exhibit cases are important
artifacts, publications, interviews, and interactive that tell the history of commercial aviation at
American Airlines from 1934 to present day.
Inside the history circle is the circle theater which feature SIX behind the scenes videos for American
Airlines.
Flagship Knoxville DC-3 Hangar
This historic aircraft, built in the 1940’s, is our largest artifact in the museum. C.R. Smith helped create
and mass produce the DC-3 plane that helped make moving people profitable. At the DC-3, you may
tour your students around the outside and inside of the aircraft to explore the different parts as well as
the beginnings of air travel.
The Flagship Knoxville has a label of plane facts in the entrance to the plane that tell its cruising altitude
and speed
Entrance Exhibits
The entrance exhibits in the museum have a GLOBE, CR SMITH MUSEUM EXHIBITS and BOARDING
GATE. Our globe exhibit feature lights that show destinations American Airlines travels. Learn about the
first president of American Airlines, C.R. Smith, and meet our Museum Volunteers at the Boarding Gate
that can answer many questions on AA and aviation. Many of the Museum’s Volunteers are retired
pilots, aviators and American Airline personnel.
Flagship Knoxville DC-3 “Man’s First People Mover” Tour: (Grades K-12)
Do you think you have what it takes to fly? Whether it is a small Beechcraft or a NASA Rocket, all pilots
need to know the basics! In this program, students will tour inside and out of our DC-3 Flagship Knoxville
and perform a maintenance pre-flight check to learn what it takes to fly American Airline’s first “people
mover. Along the way, participants will learn the parts of an airplane, plane controls and the many
personnel that work to help an aircraft fly. We will focus on the simple machines that make up this
complex aircraft, flight controls and flying in our atmosphere as well as the different jobs of aviation
personnel.
Build Workshop (Grades 3-12)
his age appropriate, museum staff led workshop will introduce participants to flight. They will explore
the different forces at work that affect an object in flight. Our museum staff will review different topics
including air and our atmosphere, four forces that affect flight including drag, thrust, weight and lift and
what helps things stay in the air. Students will then be challenged to create their own flying machines to
test in our flight area and wind tunnels. Please allow for an additional 30-45 minutes, depending on your
group’s size for workshop activities.
Group Size
Time Frame
Cost
Up to 30
30-45 minutes
$60
Post-Museum Field Trip Questions
The following questions are for after your visit with us:
What is a museum and what do you find in a museum?
What is American Airlines?
Who was C.R. Smith?
What is an airplane?
What are things that an airplane can carry?
What helps an airplane fly?
Why can’t we fly?
What is air?
What is a force?
What are the forces that affect flight?
What is something an airplane carries?
Who was C.R. Smith?
What are some simple machines that help make an airplane?
What are the three directions an airplane can move in the air?
Up to 60
60-75 minutes
$120