Tour: STEM and Aviation

Destination: Seattle, , USA

Specialization: Multi-disciplinary STEM with emphasis on Aviation

Itinerary: 5-days/4-nights in destination (additional night on flight home)

Availability: Year round

Seattle STEM and Aviation Morning Afternoon Evening

1 Fly to Seattle; Airport shuttle to hotel, Check into Hotel; Welcome & Safety Meeting Hotel or local restaurant dinner

Self transfer via of Pop Culture Lunch (on Restaurant dinner Self transfer via Seattle 2 Seattle Transit Seattle Space Needle (inc workshop) own) (downtown) Transit back to hotel downtown

Future of Flight and Tour (inc lunch (to 3 Seattle Museum of Flight (inc workshop) Dinner close to hotel Free Time be purchased) with employees and workshop) Gates Self transfer via (inc Lunch (on Foundation Seattle Restaurant dinner Self transfer via Seattle 4 Seattle Transit workshop) own) Discovery Aquarium (downtown) Transit back to hotel downtown Center Self transfer via Museum of History and Seattle Pinball Lunch (on Transfer to 5 Seattle Transit Industry (MOHAI) - inc Museum (flight Depart Seattle own) airport downtown workshop time dependent)

6 Arrive UK

Specialists in STEM Student Travel

As with all sample itineraries, please be advised that this is an ‘example’ of a schedule and that the activities and hotels shown may be variable dependent upon dates, weather, special requests and other factors. Itineraries will be confirmed prior to travel.

Day 1 Local restaurant, hotel or pizza dinner

Seattle…. a city on Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest, is surrounded by water, mountains and evergreen forests, and contains thousands of acres of parkland. Washington State’s largest city, Seattle, is home to a large tech industry, with Microsoft and Amazon headquartered in its metropolitan area. The futuristic Space Needle, a 1962 World’s Fair legacy, is its most iconic landmark.

Seattle is a vibrant modern city in the northwest corner of mainland USA and enjoys a stunning natural setting on the magnificent Puget Sound.

The city’s exciting modern buildings blend in with a few more historic ones and all are nestled between the snowy peaks of Mount Rainier and the shorelines of Lake Washington and Elliott Bay – the architecture reflects the city’s connections to the cutting edge aviation and computer industries.

Seattle is most famous for the headquarters of the global companies of Microsoft and Boeing, and is the home of the legendary Starbucks – founded in the 1970s. There’s a great public transport system which makes it easy for visitors to get around the many attractions the city has to offer.

The Amazon Spheres, Downtown Seattle

Did you know?

 Seattle is a derivative of the Indian name “Sealth”. Sealth was a chief of the Squamish tribe at the time the first white settlers arrived in 1851.  Seattle has 147.52 miles of fresh water shoreline and 53.38 miles of saltwater shoreline for a total of 200.90 miles of shoreline.  The average water temperature is 50° Fahrenheit  Seattle is the fastest growing city in the USA this decade  Washington State Ferries operate 10 routes throughout the Puget Sound and the San Juan islands and maintains the largest fleet of ferries in the USA and is also the 4th largest ferry operator in the world  Seattle is home to 5 of the Fortune 500 largest companies list – among them Amazon and Starbucks.  Seattle is synonymous with music - Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, the Foo Fighters and the alternative rock movement grunge all started here

Groups participating in Visions ‘Seattle STEM & Aviation’ will generally arrive in Seattle in the afternoon. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel by shuttle bus after meeting your dedicated Visions Ambassador.

Following hotel check-in and our Welcome & Safety Meeting, enjoy a dinner at a local restaurant and relax after the long flight before starting your adventure bright and early in the morning. Get ready to experience the Pacific North West.

Day 2 Breakfast & Dinner

Rise and shine Seattle! After breakfast at your hotel, take the public transit system downtown (public transit system cards included) with your ambassador. First stop will be the (MoPOP).

Designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, the 13000 m² building is home to a wide variety of exhibits, interactive activity stations, sound sculpture and educational resources. Workshops here include:

Building New Worlds: Science Fiction Story Builder What can stories like Star Trek, The Hunger Games, and WALL-E tell us about society? We’ll examine what makes science fiction stories unique, explore some common questions posed by science fiction stories, and seek out inspiration for our own stories in the Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction exhibit!

The Science of Science Fiction What role does technology play in science-fiction stories and how does it inspire today’s scientific advances? From Star Trek to Doctor Who and beyond, we’ll examine how science-fiction stories use technology to set the scene and help their characters solve problems. We’ll explore examples, gather inspiration from the Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction exhibit, and design our own sci-fi technology that can help us resolve a futuristic problem.

Science of Sound What is sound? How does it travel, and what does it look like? Together, we’ll investigate vibrations, pitch, amplitude, mediums, and more, we’ll explore how sound waves are generated, transmitted, and received. Experiment with sound effects, explore sound waves using an oscilloscope, use instruments to create your own band, and explore the museum’s galleries to continue your learning!

This Machine Kills Fascists: Pop Culture and Social Activism Through songs, visual arts, dance, clothing and more, pop culture plays a critical role in social and political activism. From musicians who use their songs as a call to action to photographers and painters who use images as a protest, pop culture is a powerful means of speaking out about contemporary problems. In this program, students will engage with pop culture social activism as seen in museum artifacts and explore activities that inspire them to use their own creativity as a way to process collective anger, raise awareness, and let their voices be heard.

Your school can chose one of the above workshops depending on your own preferences.

Take a break for lunch (not included) before wandering over to the iconic Space Needle. Built for the 1932 Worlds Fair, the observation tower stands 184m high and weighs 8660 tonnes. It is built to withstand winds of up to 200mph (320km/h) and earthquakes of up to 9.0 magnitude. The observation deck is at 160m with the view taking in the downtown Seattle skyline as well as the Olympic and Cascade mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay and the surrounding islands. In 2018, the latest attraction was unveiled – the world’s first and thus far only revolving glass floor known as “The Loupe”. At 50 storeys above street level this new see-through floor rotates gently and affords amazing view of the city of Seattle. Visitors here have access to the interactive digital globe and Skypad containing years of memories of Seattle as well as being able to experience a VR bungee jump!

After enjoying some free time for shopping or maybe a visit to the famous Pike Place Market and dinner in a downtown restaurant, take the Seattle transit back to your hotel.

Day 3 Breakfast & Dinner

Today promises to be a once in a lifetime experience. After breakfast at your hotel, board the coach for the short transfer to the home of one of the biggest employers in the area – the globally recognized Boeing Corporation. The first of today’s experiences is at the amazing Future of Flight Aviation Center at .

Upon arrival, we’ll need to deposit cellphones and the like in secure lockers, before heading off on our private factory tour. The factory is the location for the production of the 747, 767, 777 and 787 Dreamliner . The main assembly building is officially recognized as the largest in the world at 13.3 million cubic metres and covers a massive 398,000m².

Our tour here will focus on engineering and manufacturing with a specific focus on lean production methods. This is a special tour designed especially for school groups and will contain interactive SME sessions focused on Lean Dojo or Kaizen manufacturing. Lunch (not included within the price) can be purchased from one of the on-site employee cafeterias where students can spend time with the factory employees.

The adjoining Future of Flight Aviation Center contains a variety of exhibits including  A comparison between the 707 and 787 Dreamliner fuselage  Videos, presentations and mockups illustrating the history of commercial aviation  Genuine cockpit  Working full size model of GE90 777 engine and Rolls Royce Trent 1000 787 engine  Learning area covering the inner workings of aircraft  Innovator (additional charge) – a virtual ride to distant places across the world

After experiencing the best of Paine Field, we’ll board the coach for the transfer to South Seattle to the fantastic Museum of Flight at King County airport which is also known as . As the largest private air and space museum globally it is also home to one of the largest educational programmes for students.

There are a variety of aircraft on permanent display here from the Lockheed Model 10 Electra made famous by , the first flightworthy 747, the world’s first jetliner the and the unique .

As well as allowing your students to explore the museum exhibits, we will also have an included session chosen from one of the two below.

The Aviation Learning Center brings to life the energy and excitement of flight through a hands-on learning session. Get a taste of ground-school in the Learning lab, climb inside a Cirrus SR20 aircraft and plan the flight to a pilot in the simulation bay

The Challenger Learning Center offers a team mission experience where students work together on a realistic, simulated space mission that requires hands-on, inquiry-based activities to challenge students in the areas of teamwork, communication, problem-solving and critical thinking.

Schools are able to choose at the time of booking which of the Aviation Learning Center or the Challenger Learning Center they would like to participate in.

Take the coach back to our hotel for dinner at a nearby restaurant to end this amazing day.

Day 4 Breakfast & Dinner

After breakfast in your hotel, take the light-rail link downtown and head first to the Pacific Science Center.

The Pacific Science Center sits at the Southwest corner of the and offers educational programmes for all age groups concerning environmental stewardship, wetland ecology and environmental awareness. Today there are 8 buildings including two IMAX theatres, one of the largest laser dome theatres in the world, a tropical butterfly house, a planetarium and hundreds of other hands-on exhibits.

The Science on a Sphere experience uses computers, video projectors and satellite imagery to display dynamic images of our planet on an illuminated sphere that can explain complex science processes in a simple visual way. Students will learn about earthquakes, plate tectonics and different kinds of waves, and discover how volcanoes form and the results when they erupt with particular emphasis on how Seattle would be affected if Mount Rainier erupted.

Next we’ll visit the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center. The motto here is that all lives have equal value and that we are inpatient optimists working to reduce inequity and inequality.

Mission statements here are:  Ensure more children and young people survive and thrive  Empower the poorest – especially women and girls to transform their lives  Combat infectious diseases that particularly affect the poorest members of society  Inspire people to take action and change the world

People are changing the world in extraordinary ways — and so can your students.

At the Discovery Center, you’ll encounter powerful stories about the impact of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and its partners toward improving the quality of life for billions of people. Our interactive exhibits let you explore first-hand bold, innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges facing communities around the globe.

Bring your curiosity and leave inspired to take action for a cause you care about. Explore interactive exhibits related to the foundation’s mission to reduce inequities related to poverty, health, and education affecting people all over the world—and here in the Pacific Northwest. Although the problems are big, we are making progress together—and there are reasons to be optimistic. Trace some of the everyday hurdles facing the world’s poorest people, and see how our global partners are working to improve lives around the world. In this exhibit, we share how data drives our work to ensure that progress takes root against the toughest challenges. Gather around a giant map and discover global trends related to key issues of poverty and health, across time and region. Pick up one of the "pucks" to dive deeper into topics, stories and facts. Share what you have discovered to the big screen. Whether exploring by yourself or with friends you will see that progress is being made and change is possible. What if we could reduce disease, and save more lives? Throughout many of the exhibits at the Discovery Center you will see that while the world’s poorest people still don’t have enough access to basic health care, vaccines, and medicines—we’re making progress.

Explore how we can save more lives by using the latest in science and technology. We work with partners to provide effective vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics—and to develop innovative approaches to deliver health services to those who need it most.

Immerse yourself in ideas and inspiration for changing the world. Experience powerful stories of people who are taking action in different ways, both big and small. Take a quiz to discover how to use your skills and talents to help others and design your own media campaign for a cause you care about.

Next, we visit the Seattle Aquarium where marine conservation is promoted and educates your students about their impacts on marine life. Through a variety of exhibits including:  Window on Washington Waters – where the coastal waters of Washington State are replicated and features a variety of marine life. Dive shows take place regularly with divers wearing special masks to enable participation with viewers  Crashing Waves – a wave tank that replicates the Washington state shoreline to the intertidal zone  Life on the Edge – touch zones allow visitors to see the tidepool life of the area  Life of a Drifter – a glass dome where visitors are surrounded by jellyfish, plankton and the giant Pacific octopus  Marine mammals including information about the seal population of the area as well as the Orca Activity Center which educates visitors about the resident Pugent sound pod of endangered Orca whales

School educational programmes here include: Marine Invertebrate Lab: Discover the rich diversity of animals that call the Puget Sound nearshore habitat home. By interacting with live marine invertebrates, students will learn how to classify animals into phyla based on physical characteristics. They will also explore the biodiversity of the intertidal ecosystem, and the ways in which the organisms are interrelated. Oysters and Ocean Chemistry Lab: Ocean chemistry is rapidly changing as excess carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is absorbed into the water. Students will discover how this affects larval oysters and oyster farmers in Puget Sound, and how Simone Alin, oceanographer at NOAA, helps the farmers monitor ocean chemistry to maintain healthy hatchery conditions. Video clips integrated throughout the class allow students to hear Simone’s story directly from the source. Students will conduct two different pH tests to understand the relationship between CO2 and pH in the ocean; analyze graphs of real data from local ocean moorings to identify patterns in ocean chemistry; discuss solutions to the oyster farmers’ challenges; and get hands-on with live oysters.

NGSS Practice: Analyzing and Interpreting Data, Crosscutting Concept: Patterns

For dinner, either enjoy a downtown restaurant before self transferring back to your hotel via the light rail transit system or transfer back to your hotel and enjoy a restaurant close to the hotel.

Day 5 Breakfast

After a final breakfast at your hotel, we’ll officially check out and leave luggage securely before a final self transfer on the light rail to the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) which is the largest private heritage organization in Washington State with a vast collection of artefacts and archive materials that primarily focus on the greater Seattle area.

MOHAI’s core exhibit runs around most of the buildings second floor and provides a chronological history of Seattle and its environs from the pre-pioneer settlements to the present day. Educational programming here is designed to complement the “True Northwest” exhibition to promote critical thinking among your students and present multiple perspectives to explore diverse experiences, make history relevant with personal connections and create links across various parts of the STEM curriculum.

Grab a final lunch before finishing the Seattle STEM and Aviation tour with a bit of fun at the Seattle Pinball Museum (subject to flight departure time). Come play pinball history - 50+ games from 1960s to present on free play. Everything may be behind glass, but nothing is hands-off! The owners have a rotating collection of pinball machines, usually about 30 at a time, ranging from old-time wooden boxes to modern games with tons of bells and whistles.

Finally, we’ll board the coach for the transfer to the airport and your overnight flight back to the UK to arrive the morning after with memories that will hopefully last a lifetime.

Seattle STEM and Aviation

Minimum Booking Numbers: 20 students

What’s Included: Roundtrip flights or coach 4-nights’ accommodation Breakfasts and dinners daily 1 Lunch at the Boeing Factory Airport transfers and transportation as shown Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) – 1 w/shop Space Needle Future of Flight Aviation Center Special student based tour Boeing Factory Tour inc factory lunch (pay locally) Museum of Flight inc ALC or CLC Pacific Science Center Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center Seattle Aquarium Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) Seattle Pinball Museum Dedicated Visions Ambassador 24-hour emergency cover

What’s Not Included: Fully comprehensive insurance (mandatory) Transfers to/from home airport Transportation for activities not shown in the itinerary Lunches in resort Cost of visas, full or collective passports Cost of inoculations or medication required for travel Sightseeing / Entertainment Options not shown Hotel incidental deposits & bills – meals, mini-bar items, recreation, purchases billed to room, etc Any gratuities – coach drivers, maid / bellman services, area guides, tour ambassador

As always, our staff are always available to you to answer any questions you may have regarding programming. If we may serve you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact us.

United Kingdom: [email protected] / 01444 810399 The Americas: [email protected] / 417.231.4892