New National Air and Space Museum Video Series Brings Aerospace Learning Into Classrooms
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has launched “On Air,” a new educational video series for a middle school audience. “On Air” consists of short classroom-friendly videos, developed for grades five through eight, that introduce students to artifacts and stories from the museum’s collection and exhibitions. The videos align with national standards and include additional resources for teachers to incorporate them into their classrooms.
Each month of the school year, the museum will release a collection of videos focused on a specific topic. Every collection contains four videos under 10 minutes in length and an accompanying educator guide featuring classroom resources, student activities and full lesson plans. The topics for the 2026–2027 school year are weather (September), the solar system (October), art (November), air ships (February), moons (March) and comets and meteors (April).
Each video in a collection frames the topic from a specific angle. The opening “Setting the Scene” video introduces the topic using a National Air and Space Museum perspective and expertise. “Collection Connection” explores objects from the Smithsonian’s collection and connects them to students. “Career Paths” introduces students to interesting people from the aerospace industry and explores their path to success. The final video type, “Teacher Tips,” is developed for teachers and walks through an in-depth lesson, breaking it down into manageable parts, sharing tips for implementing the videos in their classrooms and giving extensions to further their students’ learning.
The videos will be available on YouTube and through a classroom-friendly video player on the “On Air” website. More information about “On Air” is on the museum’s website.
“On Air” is made possible by the support of Amazon, Boeing and the Hexcel Foundation.
The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., is located at 650 Jefferson Dr. S.W. and is open every day except Dec. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission is free but timed-entry passes are required to visit. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is located in Chantilly, Virginia, near Washington Dulles International Airport and is open every day except Dec. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission is free, timed-entry passes are not required and parking is $15.
