Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum P.O. Box 5024 Middle River, Maryland

Transcription

1 Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum P.O. Box 5024 Middle River, Maryland A TEACHER S GUIDE Right Place, Right Time, Wright Brothers Name of Performance Performance Category presented by the Museum's Theatre-in-Residence Thirst 'n' Howl Musical Productions Musical Theatre OBJECTIVE OF THE PERFORMANCE: Right Place, Right Time, Wright Brothers was written not only as a three dimensional history lesson to celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight, but it was developed with the goal of inspiring imaginations, stimulating creativity and encouraging young minds with a positive reinforcement, allowing the audience to see that they have the potential to do whatever they dream of doing and set their minds to doing. This history lesson, musically brought to life, follows brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright and their sister Katherine as they build an unpredictable machine that could possibly drop them out of the sky to unpleasant injury, although they consistently climbed aboard with only the belief that it would work. The story of Wilbur and Orville is one of dreams of flying and it is hoped that this show will spark a desire behind a dream, a dream that could possibly produce the next Wright brothers. The Wright brothers dream to fly, their passion for conquering the mystery of how to stay in the air like a bird or a bee or their toy helicopter began when they were children. It is hoped that this Right Place, Right Time, Wright Brothers edutainment vehicle will touch the hearts and minds of twenty-first century children and encourage them to follow their dreams to the next technological wonder for reaching the outer limits of space, venturing far beyond the dreams of the Kitty Hawk experience. SUMMARY OF THE PROGRAM: Right Place, Right Time, Wright Brothers, a fifty minute musical produced by writers Debi Wynn and Ellis Woodward, celebrates the industrious spirit of the Wright brothers as they worked to achieve their dream to fly. It is a story of vision, productivity and achievement as it recognizes and celebrates how the world became smaller in only twelve seconds. Our show demonstrates the pioneering spirit of Wilbur and Orville and increases the public s knowledge of how modern aviation took flight. This production includes audience participation as it deals with the how as well as the why, describing the tech-nological thinking of two brothers in the late nineteenth century. This fourteen song musical focuses on the birth of powered flight and includes not only the triumph of the brothers, but also the story behind the moment, including their experience as inventors, newspaper publishers and bicycle mechanics. As the show moves to its finish, Wilbur and Orville, and their sister Katherine bring the audience forward in time through the accomplishments of man in flight with the song One Small Step and anchors all of these achievements solidly to the vision and courage of Wilbur and Orville Wright, who were absolutely at the right place, at the right time.

2 I. PRE-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES A. Background information students should be familiar with in order to understand and appreciate the Wright brothers experiences. * For comparison of the Wright experience to those of previous pioneers in flight, researching Leonardo di Vinci, Otto Lilienthal, Samuel Langley and Octave Chanute will provide students with information on pre-wright flight attempts. * Students should research life styles from to provide them with a glimpse of day to day life of the Wright family, researching not only the Wright family members, including Wilbur and Orville s other two brothers, but also educational and recreational activities for the children, the cost of living, transportation of the times and communication tools available to communities in the days before TV's, cars and computers. It is suggested to divide your classes into six groups and assign each group one of the following topics: *Members of the Wright family *Education methods *Recreation activities *Transportation *Communication *Household activity - chores, meals, dress, conveniences of the times Have each group research their topic and bring all groups together to present A day in the life of an 1880 s student. If costumes are available, have the students dress for the time period. Conclude the presentation with a formal class photograph in period costume. After the presentation, each student should transport their own family back in time and write a story, poem or song about a special family occasion in this time period. B. Vocabulary that is unique for the performance. Aerodynamics - A field of fluid dynamics that studies how gases flow, including air, and how forces act upon objects moving through air. Drag - The retarding force acting on a body (like an airplane) moving through a fluid (like air) parallel and opposite to the direction of motion. Elevator - A part of the tail of an airplane that can be moved to control the airplane s up or down motion. Glider - An aircraft that has no engine and is carried along by air currents. Wind Tunnel - A small or large tunnel with a fan that can create constant wind conditions for research purposes. Yaw - The side to side motion of the aircraft s wings. Pitch - The up and down motion of the aircraft s nose. Roll - The up and down motion of the aircraft s wing tips.

3 II. PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS During the performance, students should take note of the following information. The students should be aware of the scientific applications the Wright brothers used to solve the problem of how man could successfully fly like a bird. At the conclusion of the performance, the students should recall that Wilbur and Orville: * Studied the findings of previous explorers in flight * Observed creatures who could fly, wondering how and why they stayed in the air * Investigated the technological requirements of flying * Tested, evaluated and modified their findings after the glider flights * Changed the world by making it smaller * Provided the initial technology to conquer the secrets of flying, technological concepts that still serve as the basis for all aircraft flying over these past 100 years and into this 21rst century * Worked as a team, sharing their critical thinking skills for problem solving. When confronted with an obstacle, they never gave up trying to accomplish their goal III. PERFORMANCE FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES: *The Flight of 120 Feet A. Pass out popsicle sticks to each student in the class and have them write their name on the stick. Go outside and mark a starting point. Then have each child place their stick where they believe to be the end of 120 feet from the starting point. When all the students have placed their sticks, assign a team to measure 120 feet with a tape measure. Observe which student made the best calculative guestimation to arrive nearest the 120 ft. marker. B. When Orville made the first successful flight in 12 seconds in the Flyer, Wilbur ran along his side. Have the students run the 120 feet in groups of four and see if any of the students can run the 120 feet in 12 seconds as Wilbur once did following along side of their Flyer. * Pioneers of Space Flight A. After students studied early pioneers in flight prior to Wilbur and Orville as a preparation project for the show, having seen the show, they should next research the space pioneers who followed the Wright brothers to see how quickly a trip into space was made following the 1903 Wright flight. B. Have the students develop questions about the flying experience in 1903 compared to the flying experience in the 21rst century. Assign half the class to assume the roles of interviewers and the other half to assume the roles of Wilbur, Orville, and other early flying explorers. Conduct a panel discussion, utilizing the questions developed by the students. Discuss the answers. C. Invite a pilot to the classroom to discuss 21rst century flight and have a small group of students ask this pilot the same questions that were presented to the early pioneers of flight on the previous day. D. On the third day, all students should assume the role of a pioneer in flight in Each

4 student should write a poem on their 22nd century experiments in flight and how they were or were not successful in their flying endeavors. * Timeline of flight Divide the class into 12 research teams and assign each team a decade beginning with 1900 through to Have each team design a poster showcasing the many accomplishments in flight for their decade. Assign the 12th team the task of researching the many first in flight accomplishments made in Maryland over 100 years and design a poster for Maryland Firsts that will be displayed with the timeline. PERFORMERS INFORMATION Since 2005, Thirst 'n' Howl Musical Productions, a Baltimore-based educational touring theatre company, has been partnering with the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum in its educational programming endeavors. Thirst 'n' Howl has assisted the Museum with program planning, creating first person presentations of aviation pioneers and special events and joins the Museum in inspiring students for learning with the excitement of flight. The theatre company has traveled from Baltimore to Texas to North Carolina and Ohio with its original Wright production, a recipient of a Wolf Aviation Award. The company's other aviation related musicals include its history lesson on the women of World War II and the Rosie the Riveter experience called "Rosie", a general aviation lesson called "From Sand Dunes to Mars", also a recipient of a Wolf Aviation Award, and its musical on Glenn L. Martin called The Flying Dude. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM Right Place, Right Time, Wright Brothers is a musical story of the Wright brothers and their quest of their dream to fly. With audience participation, this show follows the brothers and sister Katherine as they publish newspapers, repair bicycles and work together to solve the technological mystery of flight REQUIREMENTS Accommodations needed: While we do prefer a stage setting, we have performed in various settings; convention halls, cafetoriums, classrooms and are we very adaptable with available space. Equipment needed: 2 small tables for the performance area and a dressing area for the actor Length of Performance: 50 minutes (This is performance time only and does not include the arrival and departure of students to the performance room.) If time permits with the school s schedule following the performance, we can include a Q & A session. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE OF THIS GROUP PERFORMING TOGETHER Each of our company members, Ellis Woodward, Alan Stein and Debi Wynn has over 20 years of performing, writing, directing and teaching experience. Ellis and Debi, co-writers of this show, began performing and writing together in Over the past 11 years, they have presented performances of their edutainment musicals including The Gizmo Invention Show, Mother Goose's Rhyme Time Surprise, Working in My Neighborhood, From Sand Dunes to the Stars, Barnyard Tales, Shoemaker and the Elves, The Tortoise,the Hare and Four Fables to Share, Goldy and the Three Bears and Rosie. All three performers were brought together in 2002 for this Centennial of Flight celebration musical Right Place, Right Time, Wright Brothers that premiered at the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

5 In addition to Martin Museum and school performances, performances of Right Place, Right Time, Wright Brothers have included: Ohio for the National Congress on Aviation and Space Education North Carolina for the Cumberland Library and the Museum of the Cape Fear Texas for Kennedy Center's Imagination Celebration Fort Worth Virginia for the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum Delaware for the Hagley Museum's Invention Convention Maryland for Baltimore s Artscape Enoch Pratt Library Baltimore Museum of Industry College Park Aviation Museum Performance venues for the company's other edutainment musicals have also included several of these previously listed venues as well as those for First Night Williamsburg, York Revolution, the Maryland Association of Counties convention, the State Museum in Harrisburg, the Caroline County Library, Riverfest, the Chipman Cultural Center, Pumpkin Theatre, the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, Cromwell Valley Park and schools, senior centers, and community organizations in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

6 Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum P.O. Box 5024 Middle River, Maryland A TEACHER S GUIDE To Infinity and Beyond! Interactive Rocket Activities: The Science of Flight OBJECTIVE OF THE PROGRAM: To Infinity and Beyond! will utilize the excitement and science of flight to capture the imagination of youth, motivating these future workers for learning various STEM objectives and encouraging them for participating in the trial and error process of discovery. SUMMARY OF THE PROGRAM: An interactive presentation on the science of flight, early space travel endeavors of the United States, the current space program status, and rockets built at the Glenn L. Martin Company that launched the Gemini space capsules brings aerospace history into your classroom. Following discussions and demonstrations of the four forces of flight, Newton s Laws, and Bernoulli s Principle, students are put to work on a rocket manufacturing line where they are introduced to the science of rocket flight. Students discover the efficiency of the assembly line in the mass production of paper rockets. Each student will receive a straw-powered rocket and is encouraged to apply basic principles of propulsion in the culminating activity. I. PRE-PROGRAM ACTIVITIES Divide your students into three research groups and assign each group to research one of the following science pioneers: Sir Isaac Newton: Scientist Alan Shepard: The first American in space Dr. Tom Jones: Maryland s sky walking astronaut from Middle River, MD Instruct each group to develop a ten minute presentation on their science pioneer to be presented for the other two groups. Following the third group presentation, moderate a discussion on how these science pioneers changed the world with their contributions to science research. II. Vocabulary The four forces of flight - Lift, Drag, Thrust, Gravity The three principles of flight - Yaw, Pitch, Roll

7 Bernoulli s Principle - faster moving air has less pressure and slower moving air has more pressure Parts of an airplane: Fuselage - the body of an aircraft Wings - sides of the aircraft extending from the fuselage that produce lift during flight Ailerons - surfaces on the outer part of the wings that control banking the aircraft left or right Flaps - parts of the inner edge of the wing to control lift and drag Elevator - surface on the horizontal part of the tail section that moves up and down to control pitch Rudder - a vertical part of the tail of the aircraft to control yaw. III. PROGRAM FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES: Have students design on paper a future space travel vehicle. Following the example of the rocket assembly line of the straw powered rockets, have the students create a 3D model of their design, powered by straw blown pressure, using newspaper, tagboard and construction paper. Students should make 10 test flights, correcting for a more improved flight with each test by reworking their design, and record in chart format the following results for each flight: Distance traveled Did the space vehicle veer right? Did the space vehicle veer left? Did the space vehicle travel in a straight line towards its target? Adjustment made to the vehicle after each flight