Virtual Museum Exploration 

Create your own customized experience touring the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Mix and match different galleries and themes to suit your audience and time slot during a live Zoom experience with your dedicated facilitator. 

Make sure to include at least 10 minutes for Q&A with our educators in your planning!

Thematic Modules

Wings of War (30 minutes) Almost since their invention, aircraft have been used as weapons of war, which may even have accelerated their evolution. Here we look at their military utility from the start.

Biplanes (15 minutes) Early aircraft quickly embraced double-deck airfoils—sometimes even triple decks and more! What was the engineering payoff, and where have all the biplanes gone?

Women in Aerospace (20 minutes) Raymonde de Laroche, Bessie Coleman, Amelia Earhart, Valentina Tereshkova. Some of the greatest names in aerospace history fought the headwinds of sexism.

Flying Material (30 minutes) Aircraft engineering has been helped (and hindered) by readily available materials of the day. From wood and fabric to advanced composites, let’s look at the “stuff” that flies.

Air Speed! (15 minutes) Fast planes and dashing pilots—fasten your seat belt as we look at the quest for speed from the very first airplanes to racing planes, rocket planes and hypersonic aircraft.

Helicopters (15 minutes) Some pilots think helicopters don’t actually fly—they just make so much noise and vibration that the earth “rejects” them. For the real story, let’s take closer look inside and out.

Renaissance and Restoration (20 minutes) Museum aircraft sometimes have to be reborn—or at least restored—from a damaged or deteriorated state. See where it gets done in our world-class workshops.

The U.S. in Aerospace (30 minutes) We have often led the way—yet we’ve sometimes had to play catch-up. Trace the United States efforts to get into the air and off the planet. It’s the American way!

Gallery Modules

Early Flight (15 minutes) It turns out flying—and especially the landing part—can be dangerous. How did we ever get up in the air with something like safety and consistency?

World War I (15 minutes) Now that aircraft are safer and more reliable, it becomes inevitable that nations begin to use them to fight in wartime. Here’s how it happened.

Golden Age of Flight (20 minutes) By the 1920s, aircraft become powerful enough to fly faster and farther, with bigger payloads. See how the lure of the airways became romantic and enjoyable.

World War II (25 minutes) By the mid-1930s, armed aircraft became a dominant factor in any large military conflict. Focusing primarily on the U.S., we follow the course of the “air war” effort.

Jet Age (15 minutes) You are here: with faster, more efficient, safer, deadlier, even autonomous aircraft. What are jets, rocket planes, and drones—and where are we headed?

Space: Our Greatest Adventure (25 minutes) Real rocket engines, superb artifacts, great models, a NASA / JPL rover mockup, and the actual Apollo 9 Command Module. Hey, we all need our space.

Pavilion of Flight (15 minutes) Our inner courtyard has six aircraft—and more on the way! Take a chronological mini-tour of historic aircraft—some just too big to fit in our regular galleries.

Request a Virtual Museum Exploration for your school or for your group/organization to learn more about availability, pricing, and format. 

Scholarships and funding available for Title 1 schools.

Don't see what you're looking for? We're happy to work with you to meet your classroom/organizational needs, just email our Education Department .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).