Aviation Education Is A Big Hit at the NJ School Boards and Education Association Conventions
By Mary Lou Dordan, Aviation & Space Education Outreach Program Manager
The FAA exhibit at the Annual New Jersey School Boards Convention at the Atlantic City Convention Center was one of the highlights in the Exhibition Hall this year. Our Aviation & Space Education Outreach Program pulled out all the stops to set up a display that literally stopped many people in their tracks. There seemed to be something for everyone at the booth this year.
The focal point of the exhibit featured the Enhanced Traffic Management System (ETMS) equipment that displayed to the audience a real time, wide screen video of every commercial aircraft in the skies over the United States. Many thanks to Adam Greco and Scott Doucett for all their hard work in bringing this resource to this public venue. It truly was a real showstopper. The ETMS display system is a terrific educational tool used to raise public awareness of the need for continual improvement in the air traffic control system. It helps people to understand visually how a flight can be delayed by bad weather, as displayed on the ETMS screen, as well as to increase their understanding of late arrivals for connecting flights, staffing issues, mechanical problems, etc.
The 2,000+ aircraft represented on the ETMS screen by late afternoon each day certainly explained the need for good air traffic controllers to manage all this traffic in the highways of the sky. Our visitors were then invited to sit down at one of the four laptop computers set up with the “Smart Skies” air traffic control simulation program loaded onto them, where they learned about the importance of mathematics, speed, routing, and weather when directing air traffic. The “Smart Skies” program has been showcased by our FAA Aviation Education managers throughout the country as a tool to motivate young people to consider a career in air traffic control.
Hundreds of the attendees also were fascinated by the large, remote-controlled airplanes and flight simulators provided for the display by Dick Soucy, President of the Atlantic County Skyblazers Club. Dick kept busy teaching the conference participants how to fly as they took turns at the controls of the flight simulators and ogled over the airplanes.
The School Board members had fun learning about controlling, flying, and building airplanes this year, and how they could take these skills in the classroom to inspire and educate our younger generation. The Tech Center continues to be a popular participant at this convention that is estimated to attract 5,000 New Jersey School Board members from every corner of the State.
In addition, Technical Center Director Dr. Wilson Felder joined me in giving a two-hour workshop during one of the breakout sessions at the annual New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) Convention on November 8-9 at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Among the 40,000+ teachers attending the Convention this year, the smartest of them all were the ones who participated in the FAA Aviation/Space Education workshop. The teachers were treated to two hours of ideas, teaching materials, and free resources they could easily incorporate into their classroom instruction. The entire presentation was focused around students learning the value and power of knowledge in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which is a universal theme currently being showcased by leaders in education throughout the country.
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