NASA is with you when you fly: Museum in a Box

On March 3, 1915, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was founded with the intent of coordinating aeronautical research.  It quickly became a leading research organization through the first supersonic flights.  In 1958 the aeronautical research torch was passed with the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directors (ARMD) continues today with a wide rages of research that continues to advance the science of flight.  ARMD goals include enhancing safety, designing more fuel efficient jet engines, enabling quieter airplanes and improving air traffic management while also seeking to educate and inspire future generations of aviation experts.

NASA’s aeronautics research is primarily conducted at four NASA centers: Ames Research Center and Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, Glenn Research Center in Ohio, and Langley Research Center in Virginia.

One educational product of ARMD is NASA’s Museum in a Box.  It is a program that brings the physical sciences of flight to students in grades K-12.  Museum in a Box is great for educators at museums, science centers and schools as it provides exciting hands-on/minds-on lessons with an aeronautics theme to inspire future scientists, mathematicians and engineers.

Check out the Museum in a Box website at https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/resources/museum-in-a-box to learn about the history of flight, the parts of a plane, the principles of flight, and much more as your connect to concepts such as four forces, Bernoulli’s principle or pressure.

Barbara R. Buckner, PhD
Educator Professional Development Specialist, NASA STEM EPDC
NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center