How Does It Fly? - From Icarus to the Space Station: Cradle of Aviation to Explain Flight During Spring Vacation Programs

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The Cradle of Aviation Museum will continue its yearlong salute to the centennial anniversary of the first airplane flight with How Does It Fly?, a series of programs geared towards school children and their families to be held during the spring recess from April 17th- to April 27th.

"Children visiting the Cradle of Aviation during their spring break will gain an understanding of how everything from birds to kites to gliders to helicopters and space crafts actually fly," said Juliann Gaydos Muller, Director of Education. "Our mission is to teach Long Island youngsters about the beauty of aviation, programs of this nature will give our visitors a clear understanding of the challenges and hurdles that the Wright Brothers had to overcome to achieve success."

In less than 80 years, aviation has grown, boomed, and evolved on Long Island. Long Island has helped transform aviation from a dangerous sport to a viable means of transportation. Long Island has also produced a large portion of the nation's aerial arsenal in times of war.

How Does It Fly? will address many of the issues that engineers have dealt with over the last hundred years. "The earliest form of flight by man was ballooning, and this primitive type of travel also made its presence known on Long Island," Gaydos Muller said. "Long Island's most famous balloon flight was an unsuccessful transatlantic attempt by W. H. Donaldson in 1873. By 1896, the first recorded aircraft flight took place on Long Island, when a glider was flown from the bluffs along Nassau County's north shore."

During this vital time in U.S. history, Tom Gwynne, Vice President for External Relations says, "The Cradle will also underscore the role Long Island has played in defending our nation. During World War II, locally built aircraft helped America win victory. In the 1970s and 80s, Grumman aircraft continued to dominate the Naval aircraft inventory. Grumman's E-2C Hawkeye, still in production today, is the Navy's most advanced early warning aircraft, while their F-14 Tomcat is the best Navy fighter ever built. In the 1970s, Republic produced the A-10 Thunderbolt II, proven by the Gulf War to be the greatest tank killing aircraft ever built."

Vacation week visitors to the Cradle will also enjoy the museum's newest feature, the Mars Virtual Voyage. Passengers will experience the thrill and excitement of space exploration during an interactive simulation of a rescue mission of a Mars colony. The new Mission to Mars virtual reality experience allows travelers to exist on Mars because of the introduction of a futuristic device called the Prometheus Generator, fueled by a newly discovered element that has yet to make the Periodic Table of Elements - cerium.

Prior to lift-off, space travelers will watch a video presentation examining how the future has been envisioned by writers, scientists and artists of the past, including author Jules Verne, who first imagined our landing on the moon. The presentation will also include the works of other writers and filmmakers of science fiction, who described many of the space activities that we take for granted today, such as the launch countdown, weightlessness and satellite communications.

According to Gaydos Muller, "This new exhibit underscores the Cradle's ability to utilize our visitors imagination to meld science fiction with technology and science fact. The Mars simulation creates a unique multi-media presentation that enhances the understanding of future space exploration to Mars and provides a new generation of American explorers with the means to dream, wonder and achieve."

The Cradle of Aviation Museum and its IMAX® Dome Experience is open seven days a week, 10 am through 5:00 pm. "The Magic of Flight" and "Space Station" play every hour on the hour. The museum is located on Charles Lindbergh Blvd. in Garden City, adjacent to Nassau Community College off of Exit M4 of the Meadowbrook Parkway. For further information, please visit www.cradleofaviation.org.