USS Midway Museum Launches Distance Learning Program

SAN DIEGO, October 5, 2020 /3BL Media/ – The USS Midway Museum is creating distance-learning versions of its popular social studies, STEAM student tour, thermal energy lesson. Due to the impact of COVID-19 on the ability to conduct in-person student visits to the ship, the museum’s education staff is now taking Midway’s STEM education onboard field trip curriculum virtual.

“We’ve been able to transition from an exclusively onboard experience, to a blended offering of virtual experiences that we can make available to a vastly wider audience through today’s technology,” said Wayne Nuzzolo, school programs manager on Midway.  “Students still get those important STEM lessons and a tour of Midway spaces lead by Midway educators and docents, but they get these lessons on their own devices over the Internet.”

Qualcomm, Incorporated is sponsoring the transition of the Midway’s STEM education onboard experience to a virtual platform for the 2020-2021 school year. Additionally, in order to ensure educators and students from all backgrounds could access and utilize the curriculum, Qualcomm created the “Qualcomm Scholarship Fund” to underwrite participation costs for the first 250 school groups that register for the new virtual STEM education experiences.

“Now more than ever, we want to ensure that students have the opportunity to access quality STEM education resources in this new distance learning environment”, says Natalie Dusi, manager of corporate responsibility at Qualcomm. “These virtual STEM learning opportunities will open up the Midway’s educational curriculum to a diverse and inclusive population of student innovators who may not have otherwise had the opportunity to come aboard.”

“We are extremely thankful for this very generous grant from our friends at Qualcomm,” said Nuzzolo. “With their incredible support, we are now able to offer our distance learning program content at no cost to the visiting teacher who can then bring the Magic of Midway to their students.”

Each of these virtual programs are designed for both synchronous and asynchronous learning, meaning educators will be able to utilize the content during live classroom settings, or have the option to assign students to engage with the education modules on their own time.  These program offerings include a live broadcast from the Midway Museum hosted by museum instructors and are designed for an elementary and middle school audience.

The STEAM student tour, launching in December 2020, guides students through a virtual tour of Midway spaces like the galley, enlisted berthing, and the flight deck while teaching math principals used by sailors who worked in those spaces. Midway’s thermal energy lesson teaches students teamwork and problem solving as they make decisions to allocate the steam generated onboard. Using the Navy’s model, students identify and use engineering concepts to find solutions to problems sailors might encounter on board in the Midway’s Education Damage Control Onboard Engineering program.

Educators are encouraged to learn more about the Midway’s virtual student experience, and can register their classroom here.

About USS Midway Museum:

The USS Midway Museum opened to the public in June 2004 and today is one of San Diego’s most popular visitor attractions with more than 1 million guests coming aboard each year.  The naval aircraft carrier was commissioned in 1945 and served for 47 years supporting U.S. military and humanitarian efforts around the world.  Nearly 250,000 sailors and officers served their country aboard the USS Midway before it was decommissioned (retired) in 1992. 

About Qualcomm:

Qualcomm is the world’s leading wireless technology innovator and the driving force behind the development, launch, and expansion of foundational technologies, like 5G.   When we connected the phone to the internet, the mobile revolution was born.  Today, every smartphone uses Qualcomm’s technology, and we bring intelligent connectivity to new industries, including Automotive, the Internet of Things, and Computing. Our pioneering work in 5G builds the foundation for a world where everything and everyone can communicate and interact seamlessly.