Written By: Jenna Halsey
Wings & Waves Waterpark Education Coordinator
I know what you’re thinking- education programs at a waterpark? Why would kids want to learn about water when they are supposed to be having fun? The Education Department here at Evergreen believes that it’s possible (even necessary) to combine fun and education for a truly inspirational experience. That’s why we have created education programs that encourage hands-on learning in a fun and engaging environment.
The Wings & Waves Waterpark contains four quiet, air-conditioned classrooms for school group activities. It also features the H2O Hands-on Science Center which boasts free-choice learning exhibits such as a submarine, Columbia River watershed table, Water as a Solid, and many more. Educational programs incorporate these hands-on exhibits as well as the wave pool, providing a truly unique learning experience. All of the water education programs are STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) aligned and meet several Oregon Science Core Standards.
Engineering for our Oceans
Students learn about tides, properties of waves, harvesting water’s energy through dams and wave energy, and last but not least, tsunamis. Students take the Tsunami Challenge and engineer a dock built out of legos that could withstand the force of a tsunami. Just like true engineers, they complete the challenge by testing their structure in the tsunami-like wave pool! Oregon State Standards: 4.4D.1, 4.4D.2, 4.4D.3, 5.4D.1, 5.4D.2, 5.4D.3, 6.4D.1, 6.4D.2, 6.4D.3, 7.4D.1, 7.4D.2, 7.4D.3, 8.4D.1, 8.4D.2, 8.4D.3, H.4D.1, H.4D.2, H.4D.3, H4D.4, H.4D.5, H.4D.6
Water- The Sustainer of Life
Students learn how important water is to sustain life on Earth and are asked why water is important in their daily life. Students act as water managers by using Hands-on H2O Science Center exhibits in a team-building activity to allocate water to meet the needs of a community. Students learn where drinking water comes from and create their own water filters. The search for a new water sources is discussed as students learn about NASA’s quest for water on Mars. Students also receive hands-on astronaut experiences by training & dressing as astronauts. Oregon State Standards: K.1E.1, K.3S.2, 1.1E.1, 1.2L.1, 2.1L.1, 3.2P.1, 4.1E.1, 4.2L.1, 5.1L.1, 5.2L.1, 6.2E.1, 7.2E.1, 7.2E.3, 8.2E.3, 8.2E.4, H.2L.2, H.2E.1, H.2E.2, H.2E.4
Water Water Everywhere!
Students learn about the water cycle through Hands-on H2O Science Center exhibits and experiments. Watersheds and water pollution are explained using hands-on water exhibits. They will create their own watersheds and are asked to predict the flow of water pollution within their watershed. Oregon State Standards: K.1E.1, K.3S.2, 1.1E.1, 1.2L.1, 2.1L.1, 3.2P.1, 4.1E.1, 4.2L.1, 5.1L.1, 5.2L.1, 6.2E.1, 7.2E.1, 7.2E.3, 8.2E.3, 8.2E.4, H.2L.2, H.2E.1, H.2E.2, H.2E
Mad about Water
Students transform into mad scientists by wearing lab coats and goggles to learn about the wonderful, wacky world of water. Students investigate water properties through hands-on inquiry-based experiments as well as utilizing the Hands-on H2O Science Center exhibits. Students use exhibits to experience water as liquid, vapor, and solid. Students discuss how water is important to them and ways to help conserve water while participating in a hands-on conservation activity. Oregon State Standards: K.1E.1, K.3S.2, 1.1E.1, 1.2L.1, 2.1L.1, 3.2P.1, 4.1E.1, 4.2L.1, 5.1L.1, 5.2L.1, 6.2E.1, 7.2E.1, 7.2E.3, 8.2E.3, 8.2E.4, H.2L.2, H.2E.1, H.2E.2, H.2E.4
Written By: Stewart Bailey / Museum Curator
Nearly 1000 years ago, a series of stories came out entitled “1001 Arabian Nights” and it featured a wondrous creation; the magic flying carpet. Ever since, people have wanted a device that could effortlessly whisk them through the air to their desired destination. While the Wright Brother’s creation gave humans the gift of flight, it was still too complex for the novice, and engineers have been working ever since to make flying machines more like a magic carpet.
In the early 1950s, Charles Zimmer of the National Advisory Committee on Aviation (fore-runner of NASA) developed the idea for a personal rotor craft that was guided by the motions of the pilot’s body. This principle was called “kinesthetic control” and several companies including Hiller, Bensen and DeLackner put it into practice on new, one-man rotorcraft designs. Their goal was to give their operator an ability to fly freely and quickly with minimal training.
Of all the designs, the most radical (and possibly the most dangerous) was the DeLackner DH-4 Heli-Vector. Designed by Lewis C. McCarty, it featured a small platform for its operator to stand on, above a pair of counter-rotating 15’ foot blades, and was powered by a modified Mercury Marine outboard motor. Airbags under the central structure and on four poles served as landing gear and made it amphibious as well.
First flown in November, 1954 the DH-4 showed enough promise that the US Army ordered 12 copies designated HZ-1 Aerocycle. Their hope was that it would be an easy-to-fly way for troops to cross minefields or rough terrain; letting them serve as the eyes and ears of the Army, like the old horse cavalry. Unfortunately, testing of the HZ-1 in 1956 proved that the Aerocycle was not easy to fly, and it had a tendency to kick up rocks and debris at the pilot. What’s more, the rotor blades flexed at high speeds and collided, causing them to shatter and the platform to drop like a rock. Amazingly, test pilot Capt. Selmer Sundby, survived two such crashes before the Army terminated the program.
Until last summer, only one Aerocycle was known to have survived and it was on display at the Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis, VA. Then in August 2012, Mr. Robert Cummins called the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum with the story of another Aerocycle, found in the former DeLackner Helicopter Company factory in New York. With Mr. Cummins help, the museum acquired the craft, and had it moved to the Evergreen facility at JFK Airport where the folks at Evergreen Aviation Ground Logistics Enterprises (EAGLE) crated it and shipped it to the museum aboard an Evergreen 747.
Arriving in McMinnville, the unique craft was inspected by the Restoration volunteers, which brought some surprising facts to light. It turns out, that it was not just any Aerocycle, but the prototype; the DH-4 Heli-Vector. Four original airbags, painted olive green for the Army demonstration flights were still attached, and under the dirt and grime, it still had most of its original parts which illustrated its hand-built nature. Unfortunately some items were missing, giving the volunteers many mysteries to solve. The DeLackner Company closed long ago and there are no technical manuals available, so each day brings new questions and new opportunities to be “history detectives,” as the team tries to rebuild this treasure from the past.
While the DeLackner Heli-Vector and Aerocycles were not successful in their intended role, they do hold a unique place in aviation history. They were an effort to make personal flight available to everybody and to provide people with a modern form of the “magic carpet.”
John Collins, The Paper Airplane Guy, visits the Museum on February 23rd to show off his talents in three presentations
MCMINNVILLE, Ore. (February 18, 2013) – John Collins, The Paper Air Guy, returns to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum to show off his trick-of-the trade in three presentations. The event is a part of the Museum’s Membership Appreciation Month, but is open to the public as well.
John Collins earned a World Record on February 26th, 2012 for longest flight of a paper airplane with it soaring 226 feet, 10 inches. John Collins designed and constructed the plane. Collins not only has unique talent in constructing paper airplanes, but he is also great at teaching people how to build planes themselves.
“It is always exciting to have John Collins at the Museum. We really enjoy his presentations and our guests are always eager to see what John has to show us,” said Larry Wood, Executive Director of Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. “His passion for flight is not only entertaining but also contagious with our guests wanting to learn how to construct these amazing paper airplanes.”
WHAT: John Collins, The Paper Airplane Guy, visits Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
WHEN: Saturday, February 23rd, 2013
8AM (Museum Members Only)
10AM (General Public)
1PM (General Public)
WHERE: Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
500 NE Captain Michael King Smith Way
McMinnville, OR 97128
PRICE: Presentations are included in Museum admission
Rockwell Collins donates experimental aircraft to Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
McMinnville, Oregon (Jan. 29, 2013) – Rockwell Collins has donated and delivered its North American Sabreliner 50 experimental aircraft to Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon on Tuesday, January 29th, 2013. The aircraft will join the existing 250 other aviation and space artifact throughout the Museum.
“The Museum is very excited to display the Sabreliner 50 and share its story with our guests,” said Stewart Bailey, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum Curator. “We are very thankful to Rockwell Collins for retiring the aircraft to the Museum and giving us the opportunity to educate visitors with the aircraft. We understand how influential this airplane was for the aviation industry.” The Museum plans to debut the Sabre 50 early next week.
Rockwell Collins’ 1964 Sabreliner Model 50 (tail number N50CR), acquired by the company (Rockwell International, Collins Division at the time) in 1976 and based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was utilized for many significant flight test projects that helped shape modern commercial and military avionics. The aircraft was flown approximately 8,000 hours with more than 5,000 landings.
“For any pilot, the process of grounding an aircraft is emotional, especially knowing, in this case, what Rockwell Collins’ Sabre contributed to the aviation industry,” said Ivan McBride, director, Flight Operations for Rockwell Collins. “At the same time, we’re delighted that it will continue to live in a wonderful environment like Evergreen that is dedicated to educating, promoting and preserving aviation history.”
Rockwell Collins performed many modifications to the Sabreliner 50, including its unique-looking, custom-made interchangeable large nose radome to house airborne weather radar. The radar technology developed for Rockwell Collins’ market-leading MultiScan™ Threat Detection System, including forward-looking wind shear and turbulence detection, was proven on N50CR. These systems are now flying on more than 5,000 aircraft around the world and are standard equipment on a host of new aircraft platforms. Adding previous-generation and other airborne weather radar variants developed using N50CR, Rockwell Collins has delivered approximately 40,000 systems for air transport, business and military aircraft.
Other notable flight test projects completed using the aircraft include the development of Rockwell Collins’ Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS II) technology, which is required on most commercial and business aircraft today for alerting pilots of potential collision with other aircraft. Also, enhanced vision systems were developed for aiding flight crews in low-visibility conditions near the ground.
Many factors were considered in Rockwell Collins’ decision to retire the aircraft, including the age and associated maintenance cost of the aircraft and the company’s streamlined approach to workflow. Future flight testing of Rockwell Collins’ avionics systems and solutions will be transitioned to other aircraft in its fleet, primarily its Bombardier Challenger 601.
About Rockwell Collins
Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL) is a pioneer in the development and deployment of innovative communication and aviation electronic solutions for both commercial and government applications. Our expertise in flight deck avionics, cabin electronics, mission communications, information management, and simulation and training is delivered by 19,000 employees, and a global service and support network that crosses 27 countries. To find out more, please visit www.rockwellcollins.com.
Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum Summer Concert Series:
Music Under the Stars
Fridays, July 12th – August 2nd & Saturday, August 10th
5:30pm – 8pm
Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is looking for musicians to play in our 5 week long concert series between the hours of approximately 6pm – 8pm.
Music must be appropriate for all ages. Pay is negotiable, tip jars are allowed and you are welcome to sell your CDs if you would like.
Event is open to the general public and a $3 museum donation is requested.
Please send either a link to your website or a demo to firstname.lastname@example.org
Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is a non-profit 501c3 institute dedicated to inspiring and educating future generations, preserving famous artifacts from aviation history, and honoring the patriotic service of our veterans.