School Programs

All onboard School Programs include:

  • Two (2) action packed hours of learning
  • Education-discounted admission to the USS Midway Museum
  • Pre-visit information with a glossary designed to support the program topic
  • An introduction and orientation to the Midway by trained education staff
  • Experience selected exhibits and locations chosen to highlight your onboard School Program subject matter
  • Interactive and/or hands-on activities
  • Lots of active fun mixed with a good dose of learning
  • Scholarship Opportunities available, click here to learn more!

Onboard with Measuring Program:

Math, Math, Everywhere! Midway crew members often needed to rely on their measuring skills to help keep the ship operating. Students will put their measuring skills to the test as they measure a variety of objects from rectangular boxes to parts of the Midway itself!

This Onboard Program is designed to support CCSS Math Content 2.MD.1, 2.MD.2, & 2.MD.9.

Cost: $10 per student
Maximum of two (2) classes per day

Special Opportunity: Thanks to the generosity of the San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary Club, one of Midway’s Education Partners, this program is available on a limited bases for 2nd grade students from any San Diego County School District.

 

Onboard with Heroes Program:

On board the USS Midway every crewmember made a difference. Each person aboard played a key role in making sure the ship could carry out it’s mission. Students explore the roles of individuals, from pilots who flew the aircraft to the ship’s cooks whose dedication served to feed a crew of 4,500. They learn that heroic qualities such as courage, helping others, and the willingness to make sacrifices are shared by all who work together to complete a task. A “make-and-take” craft activity will help students remember their visit to Midway and the heroic qualities of the people who make the difference in the lives of others.

This Onboard Program is designed to support Content Standards: History-Social Science (2.5).

Cost: $10 per student
Maximum of two (2) classes per day

Onboard with Fractions Program:

Understanding fractions was an important skill for the Midway crew! Recognizing and understanding small fractional variations was critical to the operation of the ship. Using groups of aircraft, artifacts, and exhibits in the museum, students develop their sense of fractions as numbers.

Many shapes can be found in the different parts of the Midway aircraft carrier, the planes that flew from her, and even in the insignia of the aircraft squadrons. Students put their shape recognition skills to the test as they search for shapes throughout the ship.

This Onboard Program is designed to support CCSS Math Content 3.G.1 & 3.NF.1.

Cost: $10 per student
Maximum of two (2) classes per day

Onboard with Communities Program:

Students learn about the USS Midway, a “City at Sea”, and the special attributes needed by those who lived together in that city. By exploring how cooperation, respect, caring and teamwork enabled the ship’s crew to live together, students connect the personal qualities required by the Midway crew and those found in citizens of all successful communities. Students will design a “Citizenship Medal” for themselves to serve as a reminder of their visit and of the qualities of good citizenship, at sea or on land.

This Onboard Program is designed to support Content Standards: History-Social Science (3.4.2, 3.4.3).

Cost: $10 per student
Maximum of two (2) classes per day

Special Opportunity: Thanks to the generosity of Qualcomm, one of Midway’s Education Partners, this program is available for 4th grade students from any San Diego County School District.

Onboard with Electricity & Magnetism Program:

Imagine a city without electricity. Think of your home and the things in it that depend on electricity. Now picture a massive aircraft carrier-literally a city at sea with a crew of 4,500. Electricity was vital to its operation. Find out why this dynamic force was critical to running an aircraft carrier. Using hand-held generators, students will spark an interest in creating their own electricity. Students will explore a generator room as they discover connections between electricity and circuits. They will see that operating an aircraft carrier is very much the same as operating any community – only a carrier needs electricity in the middle of the ocean.

This Onboard Program is designed to support NGSS 4-PS3-2 (DCI PS3.A & PS3.B).

Cost: $10 per student
Maximum of two (2) classes per day

Special Opportunity: Thanks to the generosity of Qualcomm, one of Midway’s Education Partners, we are offering a new math-focused Mobile Device Tour for students in grades 4 or 5.

This exciting new tour format is designed to showcase how sailors on the Midway worked together, using math, to solve everyday challenges. Less classroom time = more exploring the ship as a team.

Students will explore the Midway in chaperone-led groups. You provide the chaperones; we provide the mobile devices.

At stops throughout the Midway, Berthing, Foc’sle, Galley, Flight deck and more, students will use the mobile devices to hear stories of how sailors worked together as a team to complete daily assignments.

At each stop, students will be presented with a math problem that specifically relates to the area they are visiting and will need to work together to solve it.

This Onboard Program is designed to support Common Core Math Standards Gr4 (4.OA.A.2, 4.OA.A.3, 4.NBT.B.5, 4.NBT.B.6) and Gr5 (5.OA.A.1, 5.OA.A.2, 5.NBT.B.5, 5.NBT.B.6).

Cost: $20 per student
Maximum of one (1) class per day

Onboard with Weather Program:

Come aboard and learn how weather affected all aspects of Midway life from launching and recovering aircraft to re-supplying the aircraft carrier at sea. Students will plot longitude and latitude positions as they participate in a simulated hurricane tracking activity. In addition, with the use of wind meters, students will track relative humidity, dew point, wind speed and temperature on board the flight deck of Midway.

This Onboard Program is designed to support NGSS 5-ESS2-1 (DCI ESS2.A).

Cost: $10 per student
Maximum of two (2) classes per day

Special Opportunity: Thanks to the generosity of one of Midway’s Education Partners, Viasat, the first 30 classes that sign up for a Grade 6 – 8 School Program aboard the USS Midway Museum during the 2019-2020 school year will be sponsored by Viasat.

Please note: This program is now available for any middle school grade level!

Onboard with Thermal Energy Program:

Energy makes things happen. Day in and day out, those responsible for the power plant of Midway produced, conserved, calculated, and transferred energy to successfully operate this floating city.

Come aboard to learn what turned the engine turbines, drove the propellers, and powered the catapults. Students will visit several locations throughout the ship that illustrate why thermal energy was vital to the USS Midway. The highlight of the visit will include an Energy Hunt through the ship. In groups, students will record digital images of the shipboard systems related to thermal energy. Teachers should note that each group is required to have a minimum of one mobile device that can record an image  to share with you at a later date. The Midway does not provide tablets or cameras for this activity.

This Onboard Program is designed to support NGSS MS-PS1-4 (DCI PS1.A, PS1.B, PS3.A, & PS3.C).

Cost: $10 per student
Maximum of two (2) classes per day

Special Opportunity: Thanks to the generosity of one of Midway’s Education Partners, Viasat, the first 30 classes that sign up for a Grade 6 – 8 School Program aboard the USS Midway Museum during the 2019-2020 school year will be sponsored by Viasat.

Onboard with Light Program:

How do pilots flying planes at 160 miles per hour use light to align and adjust their flight paths to land in an area the size of a tennis court aboard an aircraft carrier? Learn how the physical properties of light help aviators land day and night.

This Onboard Program is designed to support NGSS MS-PS4-2 (DCI PS4.B).

Cost: $7 per student
Maximum of one (1) class per day

Special Opportunity: Thanks to the generosity of one of Midway’s Education Partners, a new program is available on a limited basis for 7th and 8th grade students from any San Diego County School District.
  • This program was created in collaboration with the San Diego Unified School District’s CCTE (College, Career, & Technical Education) Office and the Science Department.
  • The student activities were specifically created to foster and encourage communication, teamwork, and creativity – skills that students will need for any career field.
  • The activities align with Next Generation Science Standards.
    • Students will use their understanding and knowledge of “forces” to complete tasks related to shoring, and ship righting.

Cost: $20 per student
Maximum of one (1) class per day

Special Opportunity: Thanks to the generosity of one of Midway’s Education Partners, Viasat, the first 30 classes that sign up for a Grade 6 – 8 School Program aboard the USS Midway Museum during the 2019-2020 school year will be sponsored by Viasat.

Onboard with Newton’s Law of Motion Program:

Learn about takeoffs and landings! The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is one of the most exhilarating and dangerous places to work. Within a limited area jets are landing and taking off at more than 100 miles per hour. What are the forces at work on the aircraft and its pilot? Students will work at activity stations to explore the dynamics of Newton’s Laws as applied to aircraft launching and landing.

Our on board workshops are designed to support NGSS MS-PS2-1, MS-PS2-2 & DCI PS2.A.

Cost: $7 per student
Maximum of one (1) class per day

Are you a teacher who wants to bring the Midway to your classroom? Educate your students about the Evacuation of Saigon, a pivotal moment in our nation’s history, with a hands on experience with Midway University’s Education Team.

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Scholarship

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Teacher Resources

For their ongoing support, USS Midway Museum would like to thank:

Midway Education Programs Presenting Partners

Midway Education Support Partners

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