Buffalo Valley GEAR UP students recently toured Tulsa Air and Space Museum. Students began the tour boarding the Museum’s MD-80 that was donated by American Airlines after 26 years of service and 39,968 flights. On board they were able to have the “Flight Experience” which is a video presentation about space exploration and flight.
Students explored the Museum and many of the hands-on exhibits that are available for them to experience—the Grumman F-14A Tomcat, Rockwell Ranger 2000, Bell 47-K Helicopter, the Aeromet Aura, Space Shuttle Robotic Arm and a Model of the Space Shuttle.
As part of their experience at the museum, students sat in airplanes, worked with Robotic Arms and Launched a Model of a Space Shuttle. Students saw many examples of air transportation history and flight both here in Oklahoma as well as the United States. Students finished their time at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum with a showing at the Planetarium of Faster Than Light: The Dream of Interstellar Flight” and “NASA’s Journey to Mars.”
The field trip was sponsored by Eastern Oklahoma State College GEAR UP. Participating schools take two field trips each academic year—one to tour a college or university and one that is cultural/educational in nature. In 2017, Eastern recently received a $17 million federal GEAR UP grant and will serve over 3,000 students in 39 area schools for seven years.
