Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Launches 'On Air' Video Series for Middle School Classrooms

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum has introduced "On Air," a new educational video series tailored for middle school students in grades five through eight. The series comprises short, classroom-friendly videos that highlight artifacts and stories from the museum's collection and exhibitions. Each video aligns with national educational standards and is accompanied by additional resources designed to assist teachers in integrating the content into their lesson plans. Throughout the 2026–2027 school year, the museum will release monthly collections of videos, each focused on a specific topic. Every collection includes four videos, each under ten minutes in length, along with an educator guide containing classroom resources, student activities, and full lesson plans. The scheduled topics for the upcoming school year are weather in September, the solar system in October, and art in November, with additional topics to be announced. This initiative aims to bring aerospace learning directly into classrooms, leveraging the museum's extensive collection to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.