COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

PRINS. MEMO NO. 24

April 2, 2002

ELEMENTARY / MIDDLE / SECONDARY

TO:	Principals
FROM:	Patricia I. Wright Assistant Superintendent for Instruction
SUBJECT:	The Aviation Centennial Exhibition

The Aviation Worlds Fair 2003 is set to open at Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport April 7-27, 2003. The 21-day event commemorates the centennial of the Wright Brothers first manned, controlled flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903.

Organizers of the Aviation Worlds Fair and the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission aim to educate and inspire the next generation of aerospace leaders. They hope to have every tenth-grade student in the commonwealth visit the fair during the public days, April 12 to 27. The fair will focus on the Aviation Centennial Park, an area comprised of five thematic zones addressing the last century of aviation history. Each zone will have a learning center or classroom facility where teachers might engage their students before touring the park or where they might summarize the learning experience of their visit after viewing the exhibits, the various vintage and modern aircraft, and the educational projects on display. The thematic zones each lend themselves to various pedagogical pursuits.

You may obtain further information by contacting the fair committee at Aviation Worlds Fair, Inc., 4 North Street, Waldwick, NJ 07463; telephone (202) 251-2600; fax (202) 251-8651; e-mail: info@aviation-worlds-fair.com; website www.aviation-worlds-fair.com; or contact Vernon L. Wildy (mailto:vwildy@pen.k12.va.us), associate director for secondary instructional services, at (804) 225-2877.

PIW/VLW/lgh