Skip to main content

Compass is offline while we prepare our new tools

Compass is offline while we prepare our new tools

Compass is now offline. Read more

Discover what this means

High flying historians

Develop your curiosity, fly back in time, then report back to your peers in this research challenge.

Back to Activities

You’ll need

  • Scrap paper
  • Pens or pencils
  • Clipboards (optional)
  • Audio recorder (optional)

Before you begin

  • This activity has three parts: they work best spread out across meetings. You can ‘Pick your project’ anywhere – it should only take about 15 minutes.
  • If you can, you may want to take clipboards, cameras, or audio recorders on your visit.
  • There’s plenty to think about when organising a visit, including the date and time, access, and consent. Make sure enough adults are able to come along – you could check with parents and carers to see if anyone’s able to help.
  • For this activity, people only need to learn enough to be able to talk about their subject for a few minutes. It’s best if they choose a project they’ll be able to learn about during a visit to a nearby place of interest – libraries count!

Pick your project

  1. Everyone should get into pairs.
  2. Each pair should face each other.
  3. One player should make three brief statements about the history of flight. At least one should be fact and one should be fiction – the player should choose whether the third’s fact or fiction. They should make all the statements as though they were historical fact.

People’s statements could be about famous aviators, aircraft, or flights. It’s OK if they need a minute to think about what to say – it’s not a race.

  1. The other player should choose two of the statements to question. They should ask the first player more about the statements using ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, and ‘how’ questions. The first player shouldn’t tell their partner whether the statements are fact or fiction.
  2. Each player should swap roles and repeat steps three and four so both players have had a turn at making up statements.
  3. Everyone should gather back together. People should take it in turns to share their favourite statements, then the people who made them should reveal whether they’re true or false.
  4. The person leading the activity should help everyone think about how historians ask questions to evaluate their sources, and check that they’re reliable and valid.
  5. Everyone should review the facts they chose. They should try to spot any themes or gaps. For example, are there loads of facts about a particular time in history or a group of people, but very little information about something else? Who, what, or when is missing from everyone’s knowledge?
  6. Everyone should decide how they’d like to do their research. They could get stuck in solo, or join up with a partner.
  7. Everyone should think about what they’d like to research. They could choose to explore a gap in everyone’s knowledge by learning and sharing about a lesser-known aspect of flight, or they could challenge the validity of a statement that’s been shared.
  8. The person leading the activity should note down everyone’s ideas.

Make a visit

  1. Everyone should think about where they might be able to go to find out more about their chosen topics. They should think about what’s nearby – is there a museum, flying club, airfield, or aeronautics factory?

There’s a list of UK aviation museums here – some sites even offer virtual tours. Lots of museums have downloads you can look at before you go, for example, the RAF museum.

  1. Everyone should think about the practicalities of visiting, from travel to preparation.

We’ve included a list of things to consider below. If you’re visiting a site with an airfield, follow the guidance.

  1. An adult should make sure parents and carers give consent for every young person attending.
  2. The person leading the activity should call the venue to chat through any questions or access requirements.
  3. Everyone should enjoy their visit and find out as much as possible about their chosen topic.
  4. On their way home, people should start to think about how they’d like to present their findings.
  • How will you get there? Do you have access to a minibus, for example, or could you travel together on public transport?
  • Is the place accessible for everyone in your group? Is access information available on their website? What do people in your group need?
  • Does the place have facilities like toilets and a cafe?
  • What will people need to do to make sure they’re prepared? For example, what should they wear? Will they need to bring food and drink?
  • Does the place have any special events coming up? Would they be interesting learning opportunities?
  • Will the place help everyone learn about their chosen topics? Is it likely to have the right information?
  • How will everyone research while they’re there? Will they need to bring a notepad (or a clipboard with paper) to jot things down, or do they have access to a camera or audio recorder? Are cameras allowed on site?

 

Present to peers

  1. If they want to, people should have a chance to practise their presentations.
  2. Everyone should take it in turns to share their research. What did they find out about their topic?

If people are completing their Air Researcher Activity Badge, their presentation should include diagrams, pictures, and a model aircraft.

Reflection

This activity was all about communicating and developing skills. What does research involve? People might think about how, in this activity, they evaluated information (like their partners’ statements), found new sources of information (the place they visited), and asked questions to gain more knowledge.

Do people usually give others the benefit of the doubt when they share information? Does it depend on who the other person is? People might be more likely to trust a friend, for example. When might it be especially important to check the source of information? How could someone (respectfully) challenge someone else if they think what they’re saying might be inaccurate?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

  • Why not try something interactive? People could write their key findings on paper, then fold them into paper aeroplanes to display around the meeting place.
  • People could also launch their paper planes across the meeting place (safely, making sure everyone’s out of the way). Once all of the planes have been launched, people should match the flying fact with the model, picture, and diagram.
  • People don’t have to make their model aircraft at home – you could make them all together while you chat about your findings.
  • Different people will go into different levels of depth with their research. Some people may be ready to fine tune their research skills, for example, by interviewing someone.
  • Contact the place you’re visiting beforehand if you need to check access information or how they can help meet any additional needs.
  • Some people may need to know what to expect when you make your visit. Chat to them (and their parents and carers) before you go to make sure they’ve had to chance to ask any questions and use resources like images or social stories.
  • People can present in small groups, if that’s easier. They could also present to a smaller audience or present in another way, like with a video.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Scouts Air Researcher Activity Badge

Anyone who uses a library to research could use it to words towards their Scouts Librarian Activity Badge.

People should be able to choose their own topics for their projects, depending on what they find interesting. It’s up to them how they gather information, too.