When you think of iFLY, fun and thrills come to mind. However, its vertical wind tunnels are also the perfect place to demonstrate the forces of physics, which is why it created an educational STEM program. Since it was established, approximately 300,000 schools and 10,000 organizations across the United States have participated in the popular program.
“Our goal is to triple [those numbers] within the next three years. It’s a passion of ours,” says Chris Barrett, president of iFLY’s retail division. “Flight is a very complicated element of physics that we have taken and broken down into courses that are accredited for elementary, middle school, and high school [aged participants.] So they actually go through some basic physics classes and get the experience of their own flight.”
Participants in the STEM program get to see science in a whole new way. It’s a superb educational experience that not only exhibits the principles of science but also gives students the opportunity to fly. “It’s important to emphasize the real-world application of STEM to try to make it relevant to their real life,” says Ellie Davis, area sales manager for all Chicago locations.
What makes it an excellent location to learn about STEM? The vertical wind tunnel is a new and exciting visual representation of physics. In other words, learning is lots of fun at iFLY, which blends science and technology with the thrill of flight.
What Is STEM?
The acronym STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The National Science Teachers Association states that it “is an interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons as students apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in contexts that make connections between school, community, work, and the global enterprise enabling the development of STEM literacy and with the ability to compete in the new economy.”
The program, hosted by world-class instructors, lasts from three to four hours, depending on the number of attendees. The participants see why mass is crucial to how an object flies and observe how an object’s surface area affects flight. Participants get to become the experiment, too, when they get into the vertical wind tunnel. Davis says that’s when “they see how the small changes they make to their body change how they fly.”
The facility offers activities based on the participant’s age or grade level. For example, high school students learn how to calculate the velocity of their bodies, and then they watch a physics ball demonstration, which is when the instructor puts an object in a vertical wind tunnel to demonstrate how different things fly. “They go crazy during the demonstration,” says Davis. “It is a very positive experience.” Participants also love when their teachers get to experience flight inside the wind tunnels.
Additionally, it’s an opportunity for participants who don’t know what STEM entails to explore different types of careers available in the increasingly in-demand field. “iFLY points out some careers they can go into,” says Davis.
The iFLY STEM Program Is Available for All
Cindy Marten, the United States deputy secretary of education, has said that all students “deserve to have rigorous and relevant educational experiences that inspire and empower them to reach their full potential as productive, contributing members of our nation’s workforce.”
Marten explained, “Research shows how a sense of belonging in rich and rigorous classrooms is directly correlated to students’ long-term academic success. Moreover, the department’s Civil Rights Data Collection continues to demonstrate that students of color and students with disabilities are disproportionately excluded from learning opportunities in STEM.”
The STEM program is available for participants of all ages and abilities. In addition, some locations have established partnerships with local schools, institutions, academies, and tertiary schools to provide affordable access to the educational experience. “Colleges, including Purdue and the University of Chicago, have come in,” says Davis. “Sometimes they bring college students, but they also do programs with high school kids.”
It’s especially popular with middle-school-aged participants. “Sixth to eighth graders are the most common age group, but we do have a curriculum for kindergarten to 12th grade,” says Davis. “There is a pretty big mix of grade levels.”
However, it isn’t just a school trip. The STEM program is available to any group of at least 15 people. So it’s an excellent choice for an outing for the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The vertical wind tunnel facilities have hosted the program for groups as big as 130 people, although the average group size is closer to 30 to 40 participants.
If it sounds like fun, the process of booking a STEM program is easy and knowledgeable employees are available to explain every step of the process. Then, after a school or organization schedules a specific date and time, the facility sends free customized materials about the program. The worksheets and information introduce the concept to the participants, who will also receive another activity to do after visiting the vertical wind tunnel.
To keep it fresh and enthralling, iFLY is committed to continuously evolving the STEM program. It accomplishes that by considering any feedback from teachers who have attended. “When teachers come back, it’s cool to have some updated curriculum for them,” notes Davis.
For anyone curious about the experience, this YouTube video shows the STEM program in action.
