Introducing: Blast-Off! Virtual, Curated Space Exploration Series (8 Programs)

The International Space Station. Return to the Moon. Mission to Mars. Discover past, present, and future of Space Exploration through live, synchronous online programs and virtual labs facilitated by educators and docents at museums around the country in this curated* virtual series.

Join us as we look at the fundamentals of human space travel- from aerospace engineering basics to training, living, working, and planning “out-of-this-world” space missions- through 8 engaging programs offered by 5 space science museums. Criss-cross the country from the comfort of your own home to visit the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (New York, NY); Aerospace Museum of California (McClellan, CA); Museum of Flight (Seattle, WA); San Diego Air & Space Museum (San Diego, CA), and the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum (Washington, DC).

The Programs will cover:

  • 2/18/2021: Exploring Newton’s Laws through Space Craft (Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum)
  • 2/25/2021: Hubble Space Telescope Exhibit (Aerospace Museum of California)
  • 3/4/2021: Intrepid & the Space Race, plus Space Shuttle Enterprise (Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum)
  • 3/11/2021: Living & Working in Space (Smithsonian Air & Space Museum)
  • 3/18/2021: Space Shuttle Full Fuselage Trainer (Museum of Flight)
  • 3/25/2021: Virtual Europa Mission (Museum of Flight)
  • 4/1/2021: Lunar Landers (San Diego Air & Space Museum)
  • 4/8/2021: Mission to Mars (Smithsonian Air & Space Museum)

    • The series of 8 programs is $119 per family. Register HERE for the Blast-Off Space Exploration program.

    All programs begin at 3:00 PM EST/EDT on Thursdays and are 45-60 minutes long. Participants will be e-mailed a Zoom link prior to each session. The registration fee is per family, not per student. The program is geared for students in 6th-8th grade, but younger and older students may participate. Parents are welcome to participate alongside their children.

    *What is a curated virtual series? Compass has researched the distance learning options offered by museums and historic sites around the country in order to schedule and package synchronous, virtual class workshops and field trips around a central topic in an organized unit study. Use these curated programs to enhance a subject you have worked on this year or to introduce a new unit study. The programs are all offered as “classroom” experiences meaning a group registration is needed to access the opportunity. Almost all sessions are synchronous, live presentations with a museum educator or docent who can answer participants’ specific questions real-time.