Museum of Flying (Lourdes Ramos Quevedo, Rob Vondrak)
"Round the World First, First the World Around"
Reviewed by: Lourdes Ramos Quevedo, chemistry teacher at the Academy of Scientific Exploration @ CCLA .
Location: 3100 Airport Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90405
34N 0' 52.7544", 118W 26' 51.903"
(310) 398-2500
email: info@museumofflying.com
Hours of Operation: Fri-Sat-Sun 10am-5pm
Description: Previously known as the Douglas Museum and Library, the Museum of Flying was recently relocated to its current location in 2012. The exterior of the two-story museum resembles a hangar with a FedEx cockpit protruding out of the front of the hangar. Adjacent to the museum are two community points of interest: Santa Monica Community College and the Santa Monica Airport. Because the museum is across the street from the airport, visitors can walk over to the observation deck next to the runway and listen to the traffic controller while airplanes take off and land. The museum does not get heavy foot traffic which lends itself to leisurely viewing and one-to-one time with the friendly and informative docents and tour guides.
Founded by Donald Douglas, Jr., the second president of the Douglas Aircraft Company, the original museum showcased artifacts (no aircrafts) for the Douglas Aircraft Company and its founder, Donald Wills Douglas. Eventually, aircrafts were added to the collection, including world War II fighter planes. The current collection consists of aircrafts (real and replicas located outside and on the first floor of the museum), memorabilia, aviation art, a flight simulator, a small movie theatre, and several boardrooms.
The airplanes on display provide the visitor with a historic timeline of airplane engineering and design from our local area. Some of the more prominent airplanes include a replica of the Wright Brothers' Flyer and the BD-5J Micro Jet that flew in the James Bond Film "Octopussy." Memorabilia on display includes personal items from Donald Douglas Sr, a Howard Hughes Exhibit, a Douglas World Cruiser Exhibit, and a Women's Wall of Fame which features Amelia Earhart, Bessie Coleman, Catherine Cheung, and Geraldine "Jerri" Cobb.
The Maxflight FS3000 3D-simulator features 5 speaker surround sound and 360 degrees of full motion. You and a guest get to select from one of three different flight adventures: a stunt plane, a combat flight in a P-38, or a passenger plane touring the LA area. I recommend the stunt plane...watch out for the trees and silos!! And the loopdy-loops!! The movie theatre shows documentaries about aviation design, history, and feature films. The boardrooms can be reserved for meetings and birthday parties. They are secluded and private on the second floor separated from the rest of the museum with a double door entrance.
Audience: Who should take a field trip to this location and why?
A physical science teacher (middle and High school) would benefit visiting the Museum of Flying because they could witness practical examples of aerodynamics (flight simulator), pressure, heat, temperature, sound, and forces in addition to engineering design.
Any science teacher would benefit by visiting the Museum of Flying and placing an emphasis on engineering and design (construction, materials, efficiency.)
Just down the street, you can visit the tarmac of the Santa Monica Airport where you can watch airplanes take off and taxi in front of you. There are two levels of an observation deck and speakers broadcasting the radio chatter between the pilots and the tower.
Science Concepts Addressed:
Engineering design:
MS-ETS1-2.
HS-PS2-6.
Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials.*
Data analysis:
MS-ETS1-3.
HS-PS2-1.
Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration.
Model Building:
MS-ETS1-4.
Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
Study Guide:
Higher Order Questions / Activities:
Evaluate which of the airplanes located at the museum was best built for its purpose or use. Explain your position.
Various seats from real aircrafts are positioned throughout the museum for your seating pleasure. Find two different sets and compare and contrast them. Do you think they were used for a specific group of passengers (coach, first class, etc.?) What leads you to believe that?
Select one of the women showcased on the Wall of Fame. Do additional research on her and complete a "twitter feed" that highlights major events in her life and how she would be responding to these events.
Study Guide (High School):
As you walk around the museum, record information about each airplane in the document below.
The cross section of an aircraft's wing is called the airfoil. Look for these different airfoil designs and any patterns in the shapes of the airfoils and the performance of the aircraft.
How does the shape of the airfoil affect the performance of the aircraft?
Enter your data into the spreadsheet here and review the graphs in the different tabs.
Many of the graphs have trends that seem logical, however, you will find there are outliers that do not fit the trend. Think about the type of aircraft that is and why it is different than the others?
Photographs: .
For additional information: