Bring your little aviators to explore birds’ hollow wings and the first aero planes with wacky Professor Wingnut and his friend, Seymour the sea gull. This museum interactive takes place right in the gallery with master arts educator and crazy guy, Oran Sandel.  Tour the galleries after the show and imagine man’s first flight.

Please note: No Tickets will be sold at the door – you must purchase in advance.

A Closer Look – About the Program

OK everybody, try this!  Thrust!  Drag! Weight! Lift!  These are the elements of flight. You and your students can learn all about what it takes to fly.

What could be more fun than exploring how birds fly and how people fly with a silly science professor and his sidekick, a fuzzy puppet?  We’ve combined science and imagination in the middle of a Smithsonian museum with this one-of-a-kind interactive show!

With a visual display packed with background facts and images from the great minds at the National Air and Space Museum, little aviators explore birds’ hollow wings and the first aero planes.  Audiences will learn and play with master arts educator and “crazy guy” Oran Sandel as Professor Wingnut.  The Professor will ignite an excitement for aeronautics and the history of early flight. 

This is a Meet the Museum program, so we invite audiences to tour the galleries after the show learn even more about man’s first flight.


Fun websites from the National Air and Space Museum:

How Things Fly:
http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal109/gal109.html
 
Quick online video cartoon demonstration of the Four Forces of Flight


A Closer Look - About the Artist:

Oran Sandel has been a teaching artist in the Washington area for 34 years.  23 of those years were spent with Arena Stage’s Living Stage, in schools, community centers or other facilities by bringing the art of interactive, issue based theater into their lives.  Today, as a freelance theater artist and teacher, he continues the work of using theater to educate and illuminate.   As a teaching artist in the DC, Maryland and Virginia schools Oran teams with classroom teachers to integrate theater arts into their curricula, enlivening the process for all the players, and helping students to retain information by increasing the relevancy of the curriculum to their lives.

Oran also specializes in teacher training and professional development.  He co-created the Center for Inspired Teaching’s Summer Institute with Aleta Margolis and spent six years as a lead trainer with the Shakespeare Theatre’s Classics in the Classroom teacher training.  He has been trained in arts integration with the A+ Schools Program (Greensborough) and the Kennedy Center, and is fully versed in aligning lessons to the National Standards, as well as the Standards for whatever state he is working in.

In the field of Early Childhood Education, Oran co-created, with Living Stage founder Robert Alexander, the ‘Children First’ preschool teachers’ training.  At present, he is in residence as a regular visiting play specialist at area schools, a consultant with the EC division at Centronia, master teacher with Maryland School for the Deaf in-school programs, and a teaching artist with Adventure Theater.


About the Meet the Museum Program

These programs are specially designed by Discovery Theater and the education departments of the nation's top museums to engage young people during their visits to the Smithsonian and foster scholarship - and fun!  Each program introduces themes and topics in a 30-45 minute Discovery Theater performance in a theater or space within a museum. Then, head off to the galleries to see objects, artifacts, or artwork on that theme.  Programs vary by museum; please call 202-633-8700 for more information on specific programs.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR LEARNING GUIDES