OUR STEM-FOCUSED PROGRAMMING DELIVERS CURRICULUM-ALIGNED, HANDS-ON LEARNING EXPERIENCES USING AVIATION AND AEROSPACE SCIENCE—CONTACT US TO EXPLORE HOW WE SUPPORT STUDENTS OF ALL AGES
Our team of certified teachers uses humor and fun to bring science and aviation history to life. Programs cover topics such as flight dynamics, engineering principles, alternative fuels, and space travel, and include hands-on activities to reinforce the subject material.
Explore our program options below or download the program catalogue complete.
The Royal Aviation Museum extends our sincere thanks to our STEM Education Donors See a complete list of the generous supporters who help make these programs possible HERE
Inspiring the Artemis Generation
All of these available programs involved hands on space themed STEM education that allow your students to visualize themselves as part of the space technology industry which is entering a new era of research and growth and much of it is being done right here in Canada.
What if astronauts wanted to play soccer on the International Space Station? In this hands-on, curriculum-aligned lesson, students explore the physics of motion by testing familiar toys and predicting how they would behave in microgravity.
The program includes a visit to the museum’s Black Brant rocket, offering a strong Canadian connection to space exploration and highlighting the world’s most successful sounding rocket—manufactured in Manitoba.
How are fragile objects transported safely around the world—or into space? In this hands-on engineering challenge, students work in teams to design the smallest, lightest, and most cost-effective package to protect a single fragile potato chip.
The program includes a guided tour exploring how advances in flight transformed the transportation of cargo and people, with an up-close look at the Air Canada Vickers Viscount airliner—one of the museum’s largest aircraft.
How do astronauts return safely from their missions in space? In teams, junior engineers will learn about how Canadian astronaut, Jeremy Hansen is preparing for the upcoming Artemis II Space Mission in 2026. After viewing actual footage from NASA’s Langley Research Centre, teams will design, construct, and test a model Orion capsule to see this engineering process in action. An up-close glimpse of our Black Brant Sounding Rocket on the accompanying museum tour reinforces the importance of design for spacecraft required to travel to the most extreme of destinations.
How does a spacesuit protect an astronaut in space? Students explore the science and engineering behind spacesuit design, learning how astronauts are protected during space missions. Working in teams, students use scientific inquiry and the engineering design process to design, build, and test a model spacesuit to protect astronaut Mark Watney from micrometeorites.
The program includes a guided museum tour featuring real examples of protective gear from the history of flight in Western Canada, including an up-close look at the ejection seat used by CF-104 Starfighter pilots.
It’s not easy being green, but rocket scientists are working to make spaceflight more environmentally sustainable. Junior chemical engineers work in teams to choose solid and liquid components, such as vinegar and effervescent tablets, that they will then test in order to create a rocket propellant that maximizes thrust and minimizes environmental impact, with explosive results! The accompanying museum tour offers insight into how newer engines and fuels have contributed to the evolution of flight in Western Canada and beyond.
Junior rocket scientists learn about the history and design of rockets, from the first fireworks to spacecraft that have taken humans to the edge of our atmosphere and beyond. Our Black Brant Sounding Rocket, standing on the main floor and nearly touching our museum’s ceiling, serves as design inspiration and provides a local connection to space exploration. Using the engineering process, students will design, build, and test their own straw rockets to discover how drag affects acceleration and distance in order to answer the question: what design will fly the farthest?
Take Flight!
Our Take Flight! programs are curriculum-based STEM-focused programs.
The Royal Aviation Museum offers curriculum-aligned STEM programs that use aviation to spark curiosity, build problem-solving skills, and connect learners with the science and technology of flight.
How does an aircraft fly without an engine? Is that even possible? As STEMgineers, students will design, construct, and test a Hoop Glider to explore the concepts of gravity, force, and motion, while discovering how changes in the design of an aircraft can create changes in its flight. A Schweizer Glider, suspended from our museum’s ceiling as part of our Experience Flight exhibit, offers an up-close look at a glider aircraft responsible for decades of pilot training, meant to inspire the next generation of flyers.
Young engineers will explore the position and motion of objects, including how wheels and axles help objects move. Our museum’s Observation Lounge provides a big-picture look at arriving and departing aircraft, baggage carts, fuel trucks, and other vehicles that help airports operate every day. As a part of a design team, students will then build and test a model baggage cart to explore how motion is impacted by different shapes and surfaces. The accompanying museum tour provides insight into how different types of landing gear, such as skis for our Fairchild Super 71 bush plane, make aviation possible all over Western Canada.
Young meteorologists will discover how significant weather measurement is for aviation, learn about the different types of turbulence that aircraft might experience and how pilots deal with them, and visit our museum’s Observation Lounge for an up-close look at our airport’s runways and weather instruments in action. In engineering teams, they will then build anemometers which they can use to measure wind speed. Innovations such as skis used by our Fairchild Super 71 bush plane are encountered on the accompanying tour to reinforce how important a role weather plays in aviation.
How do thousands of planes stay safe and avoid each other daily? How are pilots informed about dangerous weather and important safety updates mid-flight? Who controls ground traffic at airports? In this dynamic, hands-on course, students will discover the answers to these questions about air traffic control systems. Using our unique view of the Winnipeg Airport, they’ll learn about runways, the air traffic control system operated by NAV Canada, and explore career opportunities as an air traffic controller.
An exciting combination of fun dramatic role play and an up-close view of our airport runways in action from our museum’s Observation Lounge enables junior aviators to discover what happens at airports around the world every day. Students will learn about different roles involved in air travel, important safety features of airports, and how airplanes navigate their way safely through the skies. Our accompanying museum tour will take them through our Air Canada Vickers Viscount airliner to see how air travel has changed and stayed the same over time.
After exploring the different types of aircraft featured in our museum collection on the accompanying tour, junior engineers will use their new knowledge to creatively collaborate in order to design, build, and demonstrate aircraft made out of recyclable materials. By learning about how the features of different aircraft change to serve different purposes, students will decide whether their team’s aircraft needs large wings like our Air Canada Vickers Viscount airliner, a powerful jet engine like our CF-104 Starfighter, alternate landing gear such as floats or skis like our Fairchild Super 71 bush plane, or maybe even tilting rotors like our Canadair CL-84 Dynavert!
By exploring the fascinating stories featured in our museum’s multimedia displays, junior historians will learn about the people, places, and planes that changed Western Canadian history, and discover how these stories still impact Canada and the world today. The accompanying tour will highlight the creative and daring accomplishments of engineers like Elsie McGill and pilots like Wilfred “Wop” May, and students will view unique aircraft like our museum’s Froebe Helicopter, the first helicopter built in Canada, constructed in 1930s Manitoba by three brothers using spare tractor parts.
