Can you imagine learning about aviation not to mention your ABCs this way? Some lucky preschoolers in Florida are having this opportunity through the STEM Sprouts program at the Aerospace Center for Excellence at the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland.

“We have had story time at the museum for two years now, and this program is an outgrowth of story time and part of our philosophy of cradle to cockpit, where we get preschoolers interested in aviation,” said Jennilyn Crump, youth program coordinator for the Aerospace Center for Excellence.

According to Crump, the program, designed for ages 3 to 5, is an age-appropriate way to get children interested in aviation.

• READ MORE: Bring Aviation to Middle Schools

“At this age they are like sponges and interested in anything that moves, like cars, trains, and airplanes,” Crump said. “We’re going to get them excited about airplanes and aviation and build on that.”

The class is open to 15 children and their caregivers. It is described as hands-on, skill-based learning that uses playtime to educate.

“Each class will last a little more than an hour and will consist of 30 minutes of circle or learning time and 30 minutes of center time,” Crump said. “The center time will consist of math, literacy, art, and other miscellaneous activities that are related to the ‘word of the day.’ [An example would be] ‘aerodynamics.’”

The children will learn that aerodynamics is the study of air and how things move through it, and since water behaves like air, there will bea tub of water to demonstrate how certain objects passing through the water behave differently.

The class activity could be teaching directions, using small gliders and an airplane-letter match, passport stamps, or a cloud-letter search and identifying different letters.

And because these are small children, expect there will be singing and dancing to add to the fun.

“Our hope is that if this class is successful, next year we will be able to build classes to support higher grade levels up through at least fifth grade,” said Crump.

The program debuts in September and will be held for 26 weeks on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. ET.

According to Crump, aviation will be a springboard to other STEM topics.

“For example, when we get to the letter ‘S,’ we will talk about seaplanes and use that to explore the science of ponds and aquatic life,” she said.

The goals of the program are to foster a love of learning in the children, lay a foundation of STEM knowledge to prepare them for school, and hopefully provide a lifelong relationship with aviation.

The education center plans on building on the STEM Sprouts to create more age-appropriate programs for elementary and perhaps even middle school students.

The STEM Sprouts program can only accommodate 15 children and their caregivers, so preregistration is required. If there is enough demand, a second class may be added. Each class costs $10. Registration opens August 1.

For more information, email Crump at jcrump@flysnf.org.

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FLYING spent the better part of a month reaching out to aviation museums across the country, following up on tips from our readers about replicas that they’ve worked on and where they ended up. These are a few places to see one of the many Flyer re-creations out there:

EAA Aviation Museum: Oshkosh, Wisconsin

You could say the Wright Flyer was the very first experimental aircraft, and as such it makes sense that the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has a replica built by members of the EAA and Blackhawk Technical Institute in Janesville, Wisconsin. The project took approximately 10 years to complete. The replica was installed in the museum on December 17, 1978, the 75th anniversary of the Wrights’ famous flight.

Wings of the North Museum: Eden Prairie, Minnesota

The Wings of the North Air Museum in Eden Prairie has a full-scale replica of the Wright Flyer built on commission by Flight Expo Inc., a volunteer nonprofit group in Princeton, Minnesota. The Wright Flyer is on loan to Wings of the North. The first aircraft shares space with another famous replica, one of Minnesota native Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, a highly modified Ryan M-2 monoplane.

• READ MORE: Where Is the Original Wright Flyer?

Museum of Science and Industry: Chicago

You will find a replica of the Flyer on the east balcony of the Transportation Gallery at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. The replica was built by the Glen Elly, Illinois-based Wright Redux Association to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wrights’ first successful powered flight. However, since the winters in Chicago tend to be snow-laden, the decision was made to attempt the flight in September 2003.

The Association told the Chicago Sun-Times the plan was to “attempt to fly it multiple times in the morning for a period of two hours or until they broke something.” The replica, named The Spirit of Glen Ellyn, never made it into the air because of a lack of wind.

The Dakota Territory Air Museum: Minot, North Dakota

The Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot boasts a replica Wright Flyer that was built on site like a ship in a bottle.

“Construction began in 2001, and it was completed in 2003 in time for the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight,” said museum director Jenna Grindberg. “There were quite a few people involved in the building of this replica, including several EAA chapters. Gordon Valgren was the project coordinator, [with help from] Warren Pietsch, Paul Sonnenberg, Don Larson, Jerald Burtman, Jesse McMurty, Mike Nass, Phil Hall, Gary Johnson, Keith Johnson, Al Botz, Dr. Bob Roswick, Judy Valgren, Jim Bergo and Ray Buel.”

Several businesses also donated time and supplies to support the project. 

“The Diamond Chain Company made the chains for many of the replicas that were being built, and that is where we got ours,” Grindberg said. “The wires were provided by American Welding. North Dakota State University built the fittings and brackets. Dakota Drug donated trucking by hauling parts back and forth between Minot and Fargo, and Roger Ward North American provided the moving van to take sections of the Flyer out to Minot AFB for an exhibit at Northern Neighbors Day Air Show in 2003.”

• READ MORE: Remembering the Centennial of Flight

March Field Air Museum: Riverside, California

The replica of the Flyer that is on display at March Field Air Museum was built between 1979 and 1993 using plans from the original aircraft published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1950. The craftsmen were members of the Los Angeles Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The replica was built for wind tunnel tests.

The replica traveled around the country as part of the buildup to the Wright brothers’ centennial in 2003 and was eventually installed in the museum in 2018.

Florida Air Museum: Lakeland, Florida

The Florida Air Museum has a 1903 Flyer replica hanging from the ceiling in the main building. The replica is a centerpiece in this well-appointed, eclectic collection. Stand beneath it and turn slowly in a circle and you can see the history of aviation from first flight to jets.

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