40. Community Need From the conception of flight by the Wright Brothers to the twenty-three Ohio natives who have become astronauts, more than any other state, aviation has held a proud place in Ohio history. As a designated hub for innovation, aerospace will continue to be an honored part of Ohio’s legacy for generations to come.
A highly skilled aerospace workforce is essential to fulfilling that legacy. Yet today, the aerospace industry faces a shortage of trained technical graduates.
Launched in 2020, the NAHF’s Discovering Flight program offers a suite of education resources that help foster Ohio’s future aviation workforce.
Research confirms that to inspire the future of aviation, supporting educators and offering aviation resources in elementary classrooms is vital. It ignites early interest, nurturing curiosity and a love for learning while cultivating essential 21st-century skills like problem-solving and teamwork. By equipping educators with the tools to teach aviation, we empower them to nurture well-rounded students ready to tackle the challenges of an ever-evolving world. Additionally, aviation education promotes diversity and inclusivity, breaking down barriers and ensuring that all students, regardless of their backgrounds, have equal access to opportunities in the rapidly growing aviation and aerospace fields. In collaboration with our partners at ThinkTV/PBS, the NAHF has developed a standards-aligned, aviation and aerospace-focused STEM classroom curriculum. This curriculum is slated to reach 6,000 Ohio classrooms, benefiting approximately 180,000 students by the end of 2023.
To further the education gained in the classroom, The Discovering Flight Initiative also includes the transformation of our HHEC into a modern, interactive facility designed to engage our nearly 400,000 annual visitors and school groups with interactive exhibits and programs that share the stories of aviation history. Since 2020, with support from the State of Ohio, and individual and corporate donors from across the US, the NAHF has invested more than $2M in the transformation of its HHEC. Projects completed to date include modernizing our popular Hubble Docking Simulator, installing a new interactive exhibit, the SightFlyer that shares curriculum and other education assets, and installing the immersive Discovering Flight theater. The NAHF has also begun the installation of our Discovering Flight Innovation Lab, which is on track for completion during the first quarter of 2024. With partners at ThinkTV/PBS and Southwest Ohio Instructional Technology Association (SOITA), the NAHF is developing a standards-aligned classroom visit curriculum that will guide instruction for field trip groups and summer camps that visit the HHEC. The interactive program includes tracks to support different grades and takes students on their own aerospace mission through the HHEC, cementing their learning with interactive design challenges in our Innovation Lab. Plans for the classroom visit program include transportation grants to enable visits from area schools where budget and bussing present barriers to participation.
The final phase of our campaign to transform our HHEC will bring the remaining exhibits and galleries to life. Sharing the stories of our American aviation legends through interactive digital displays and holograms and educating the public on essential STEM concepts, aviation and aerospace careers, and engineering innovations through interactive exhibits, including flight simulators, airplane engine interactives, and strategy games. All of these exhibits will be accessible to our nearly 400,000 visitors to the HHEC, which is free and open to the public.