Traveling Space Museum
DAY-LONG VISIT
DAY-LONG VISIT
Simply put, the Traveling Space Museum “Space Day” is an interactive space museum on wheels. On Space Day, ‘We Bring the Adventure of Space’ directly to students in schools for an hour or for the entire day.
Reminiscent of a traveling circus coming to town, TSM exhibits are trucked in and set-up inside classrooms and outdoors under tents. A typical Space Day event has ten exhibits situated around the school campus –enough attractions to keep up to 1,000 students preoccupied for the entire school day. Keeping students focused is critical in the teaching process. The Traveling Space Museum can keep students focused with eye-popping attractions loaded with special effects equipment and space-age hardware.
Full-Scale Simulators
Unique to TSM and Space Day is the use of full-scale simulators that look and operate like equipment used by astronauts to train on or operate in space. Students can ‘fly’ in a full-scale flight simulator or grow plants without soil in a space lab module orbiting the earth. Students can also ride around on a battery operated lunar roving vehicle. Students aboard these ‘sims’ can communicate with classmates at our Mission Control simulation. To students, these simulators are more like thrill rides and toys than teaching tools. Once at the controls, they can become completely immersed in the concept of space travel. They quickly forget that they're in school and liken the experience to an outing at a theme park.
Touch and Discover
On Space Day, most students are stunned by the shear number space age hardware designed for them to operate. Students are often surprised to find that flipping a switch will cause something to happen. Unlike most museums, students on Space Day are encouraged to ‘Touch and Discover.’ Students operate walkie-talkies, video conferencing equipment, lap top computers, DVD players, glove boxes, robots and other gadgets. Touch and Discover makes the Space Day experience memorable. Students usually can’t wait to go home and share their adventures in science to parents and siblings. Students and teachers are encouraged to bring cameras to record the event
The Space Day Experience
Bringing a ‘museum’ to a school is more effective, more fun and cheaper than bringing a large number of students to a museum. On Space Day, students spend more time having fun learning about space than they would be on a field trip. A Space Day Visit eliminates the time and headaches inherit in planning field trips. Field trips can be expensive and even counter productive. Too much of the trip day is spent transporting the students, counting heads, and taking food and bathroom breaks. Space Day is the better way!
Presentations and lectures are appropriate for all K—12 students, meet California Science Standards and often are taught by aerospace and academic experts.
Space Stations
Ten or more different 'space stations' or exhibit sites are established at strategic points on campus. The regular school schedule is scrapped in favor of one that allows a class or two 20 minutes or so at each ‘space station" or exhibit. A master schedule is passed around so that every teacher knows where their class and all other classes should be at a given time. Typically, 10 minutes travel time is reserved to get to the next exhibit. A typical class group visits two exhibits per hour and ten exhibits in five hours. An hour is set aside as a lunch or break period. Usually, “home room" teachers stay with their classes and escort them to the designated 'space station' sites.
The special schedule allows for all the students to see all the exhibits. In this way the entire student body can share in a common experience. Space Day employees and speakers explain each exhibit and answer all questions. This approach allows teachers to enjoy the experience along with the students. Space Day is really a holiday for teachers as well.
Each exhibit is accompanied by a lecture that lasts about twenty minutes. Depending on the size of the student population, one, two or even three classes at a time can tour the same exhibit while the entire school is in motion. The uniqueness of the schedule and anticipation of the day's events provides much of the excitement and the energy.
Customize Your Space Day
Besides simulators, a typical Space Day can include demonstrations with water rockets, space suits and model rockets and planes. Other attractions can be more theatrical with students acting out an old time radio play or being guest contestants on a trivia game show. Space toys and remote control rovers are also favorite exhibits along with 'space art' displays and a sci-fi exhibit. Space food concoctions are always a crowd pleaser. Your Space Day can be customized to emphasize subjects of particular interest be in an upcoming space event, movie theme or current study topic.
If you are a parent, a teacher or administrator and want a “Space Day” at your school click on ‘contact’ and get on our calendar. We bring the adventure of Space Day to you.
Unique to TSM and Space Day is the use of full-scale simulators that look and operate like equipment used by astronauts to train on or operate in space. Students can ‘fly’ in a full-scale flight simulator or grow plants without soil in a space lab module orbiting the earth. Students can also ride around on a battery operated lunar roving vehicle. Students aboard these ‘sims’ can communicate with classmates at our Mission Control simulation. To students, these simulators are more like thrill rides and toys than teaching tools. Once at the controls, they can become completely immersed in the concept of space travel. They quickly forget that they're in school and liken the experience to an outing at a theme park.
Touch and Discover
On Space Day, most students are stunned by the shear number space age hardware designed for them to operate. Students are often surprised to find that flipping a switch will cause something to happen. Unlike most museums, students on Space Day are encouraged to ‘Touch and Discover.’ Students operate walkie-talkies, video conferencing equipment, lap top computers, DVD players, glove boxes, robots and other gadgets. Touch and Discover makes the Space Day experience memorable. Students usually can’t wait to go home and share their adventures in science to parents and siblings. Students and teachers are encouraged to bring cameras to record the event
The Space Day Experience
Bringing a ‘museum’ to a school is more effective, more fun and cheaper than bringing a large number of students to a museum. On Space Day, students spend more time having fun learning about space than they would be on a field trip. A Space Day Visit eliminates the time and headaches inherit in planning field trips. Field trips can be expensive and even counter productive. Too much of the trip day is spent transporting the students, counting heads, and taking food and bathroom breaks. Space Day is the better way!
Presentations and lectures are appropriate for all K—12 students, meet California Science Standards and often are taught by aerospace and academic experts.
Space Stations
Ten or more different 'space stations' or exhibit sites are established at strategic points on campus. The regular school schedule is scrapped in favor of one that allows a class or two 20 minutes or so at each ‘space station" or exhibit. A master schedule is passed around so that every teacher knows where their class and all other classes should be at a given time. Typically, 10 minutes travel time is reserved to get to the next exhibit. A typical class group visits two exhibits per hour and ten exhibits in five hours. An hour is set aside as a lunch or break period. Usually, “home room" teachers stay with their classes and escort them to the designated 'space station' sites.
The special schedule allows for all the students to see all the exhibits. In this way the entire student body can share in a common experience. Space Day employees and speakers explain each exhibit and answer all questions. This approach allows teachers to enjoy the experience along with the students. Space Day is really a holiday for teachers as well.
Each exhibit is accompanied by a lecture that lasts about twenty minutes. Depending on the size of the student population, one, two or even three classes at a time can tour the same exhibit while the entire school is in motion. The uniqueness of the schedule and anticipation of the day's events provides much of the excitement and the energy.
Customize Your Space Day
Besides simulators, a typical Space Day can include demonstrations with water rockets, space suits and model rockets and planes. Other attractions can be more theatrical with students acting out an old time radio play or being guest contestants on a trivia game show. Space toys and remote control rovers are also favorite exhibits along with 'space art' displays and a sci-fi exhibit. Space food concoctions are always a crowd pleaser. Your Space Day can be customized to emphasize subjects of particular interest be in an upcoming space event, movie theme or current study topic.
If you are a parent, a teacher or administrator and want a “Space Day” at your school click on ‘contact’ and get on our calendar. We bring the adventure of Space Day to you.
