Science

Air and Space Museum’s Student ‘Explainers’ Program Gets a Boost

By Liana Loewus — September 29, 2015 1 min read
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A program at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in which trained high school and college students lead demonstrations and hands-on activities about flight is expanding and going online.

Under a $5 million sponsorship from GE Aviation, the Explainers Program will double the number of student guides at its flagship Washington location and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., over the next five years, the museum announced on Monday.

Explainers work about 15 hours per month at the museum. They conduct educational demonstrations about space flight, assist with family days, and answer visitor questions submitted through the How Things Fly website.

The program will also begin video broadcasting its Explainer demonstrations to public school students beyond the Washington area. A group of Cincinnati public schools will initially pilot the program for 18 months.

Gen. J.R. “Jack” Dailey, the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the museum, said in a press release that the “sponsorship will lead the museum to a national program.”

Image: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington. —Andrew Harnik/AP

A version of this news article first appeared in the Curriculum Matters blog.