Gregg International School went on a field trip to the Japan Airlines Sky Museum last month.
Visiting the museum was a fantastic experience for the elementary school students, who enjoyed being pilots as they pushed buttons in a mock cockpit, and also being maintenance engineers as they learned how jet engines work.
They also experienced being ground staff by directing a video game plane to the gate. There was an interesting array of past JAL uniforms on display and some great premium-class seats for those wishing to have the ultimate flying experience.
The students really enjoyed the museum and the activities they got to do: Mfonobong said, “I liked playing with the switches in the cockpit,” and Alex said that he enjoyed being the flight captain, sitting in the cockpit seat in his uniform and pressing a massive array of buttons! Changing into cabin-staff uniforms had everyone laughing, which Leo especially liked. And Saikarthik enjoyed watching a movie that showed how a plane is made.
The trip also included a visit to a hangar, where students walked around a real 777 as it was being serviced. The engines looked enormous from up close, and one engine was partly open and showing hundreds of wires. It all looked extremely complicated.
Students loved standing by the hangar door and watching airplanes on a nearby runway. Takeru said, “It was exciting to see real planes land and take off so close to us.” But Noah liked the model airplanes best — his favourite was a giant two-metre, remote-control model 777 that has real jet engines and a licence from the FAA!
Abdul enjoyed putting together a “fact file” on JAL. He discovered that tires get changed after 300 landings; and that the average plane is 74 metres long. For more information about the museum see http://www.jal.co.jp/kengaku. — SUE SOUTHERN
