Family Science Night held at museum

450 students, parents, and family members from Fort Belvoir Elementary participated in Family Science Night March 5. Families visited the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly.

Dr. Jeff Goldstein, center director, National Center for Earth and Space Science Education, invited the elementary school to be part of the first family science night conducted at the center.

For 16 years, the National Air and Space Museum on the Mall in Washington, D.C. has held family science night as a learning experience on science and space, subjects and topics students learn about in classes.

The program provides parents a window on their children's education; schools a way to build bridges to the community; the museum a chance to augment the classroom experience with its unique collections, exhibits, films, and educational programs; and researchers an opportunity to share what it's like to work on the great frontiers.

During family night, adults are not chaperones but participate in the event, creating a shared learning experience in the field of science.

The evening began at 5 p.m. when families met at the school's cafeteria for pizza. Families boarded buses and, after arriving, got to explore the museum after hours.
Museum staff and volunteers set up exhibits and demonstrations.

You couldn't walk more than two feet without hearing a student exclaim, "This is awesome!" Students pointed out WWII planes, cruise missiles, and the Space
Shuttle Enterprise to their families in the hangar.

Students led parents by the hand over to the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft sitting in the middle of the Boeing Aviation Hangar. The SR-71 set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, explained a curator. "Cool!" several fifth-graders said in unison.

The night centered on a presentation by Goldstein in the IMAX theatre. "If you ask a student how far is the sun from the earth on a test, and a student writes down 93 million miles, no learning has occurred. We need to connect it to reality," Goldstein said.

The presentation used several models to help families understand space. "The thinness of the atmosphere is comparable to the skin on an apple. Now that's learning!" Goldstein said.

In another example, Goldstein held up a globe for the room to see. He asked, "How big do you think the moon is, compared to this globe?"

Some students held their arms out the size of a beach ball, others the size of a pea. Goldstein brought out a regulation size baseball and held it close to the globe. "This is about how big our moon is compared to earth," Goldstein said.

After the presentation, families got to enjoy the IMAX movie "Space Station," the first cinematic journey to the International Space Station.

Families blasted off into space with the astronauts and cosmonauts from the U.S. and Russia. They viewed the rigorous training to become an astronaut, and the
rewarding experience of floating in zero gravity, watching earth from a window 220 miles above Earth.

The museum hopes to make Family Science Night a regular event. The program was free, made possible by a grant from NASA.

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is at 14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway in Chantilly. Admission is free. Parking is $12.

More information on future events is available by calling 202-633-1000.