Yorkshire Air Museum is home to the only Allied Air Forces Memorial in Europe and is the UK’s largest independent aviation museum with a collection of over 50 aircraft showcasing flight from its very early origins in Yorkshire through to the supersonic age.
Itinerary: Reach for the Sky
Provider: Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, near York
Subjects: Science and History
KS: 1 & 2
The museum is based on the original wartime RAF Elvington station and educational groups can experience wartime life with visits to the officers’ mess, control tower and airmen’s billet. Members of the dedicated learning team accompany hundreds of primary school children each year, and every school visit is individually tailored to the school’s curriculum focus. The museum has also developed self-led trails linked to the curriculum.
10am: Following an introductory welcome the pupils are split into two to four smaller groups, depending on the class size, and taken on a discovery tour of the museum. During the day each group will get to experience the various aspects, histories and displays the museum has to offer in relation to the subject they are studying and four themed guided activities are available. The first group could start with Early Flight and the Development of Aviation Technology, looking at highlights from the collection that covers the history of manned flight from the Cayley glider - the world’s first ‘aircraft’ - and Wright Flyer all the way to a Tornado jet fighter.
11am: In the Pioneers of Aviation (Heroes of History) workshop pupils learn more about Scarborough-born Sir George Cayley, renowned as the ‘father of aeronautics’. The session looks at his ground-breaking work and other pioneers including Amy Johnson, Robert Blackburn, Barnes Wallis and Nevil ‘Shute’ Norway.
12pm: Lunch in the NAAFI, which sells hot and cold food, or children can bring a packed lunch to eat in the indoor reserved area.
12:30pm: Workshops continue with a choice of Hands-on WWII or Aviation during the First World War.
1pm: Time in the Air Power Zone where pupils can play and sit in open cockpits. There is also an outdoor wildlife walk which children can explore under supervision and it provides an ideal opportunity to let off steam after lots of learning.
2pm: End of visit.
Contact information:
01904-608595
www.yorkshireairmuseum.org
