Before you set out on the Big Blue Balloon Adventure at the Museum, set the scene by asking students to share their experiences with museums and aviation. Has anyone been to a museum before? Has anyone flown in an airplane?
Students will also enjoy completing the following activities from the Museum’s Student Activity Kit (PDF):
- Connect the Dots (page 17) Practise the alphabet with your students as they complete the picture of a passenger jet. Then let them get creative as they colour it in!
- Main Parts of an Airplane (page 19) Build vocabulary by naming and colouring airplane parts. (Note: focus only on simpler pieces, such as fuselage, landing gear, propeller, and wings.)
- Parts that Control Airplane Movement (page 22) Talk about the three main control surfaces of an airplane as students colour each in a different colour. (Note: remove or simplify the fill-in-the-blanks, or use as a bonus for students with advanced reading/writing skills.)