Let's Wing It

Looking to bring some fun, hands-on learning activities to your group?

The Let's Wing It! program can provide educational aviation-related activities for a variety of groups, including:

• classrooms
• after school programs
• Scout groups
• school-hosted Math and Science Night programs

Activities for any given visit will vary based on the age and number of the participants and the amount of time available. Designed to be fun, our activities can help reinforce skills that the participants are learning in school, including:

• math
• reading
• science
• geography
• communication
• writing
• art

If you are interested in bringing a Let’s Wing It! session to your organization or classroom in the Carbondale area, please contact us.

Lorelei Ruiz
Aviation Management and Flight, MC 6817
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Carbondale, IL 62901-6817
Phone: 453-9265
Email: lruiz [at] aviation [dot] siu [dot] edu

To help facilitate scheduling, please let us know the following:

1. age range of the students,
2. approximately how many participants to expect, and
3. days/times that work best for you.

We will do our best to accommodate requests, but please bear in mind that this free program is run on a volunteer basis. Our ability to provide the service is dependent on faculty and student schedules, which vary from semester to semester. When working with the larger groups, this program relies heavily on student volunteers. Because of the changing schedules that our faculty and students deal with, this program is more active some semesters than others.

The Let’s Wing It! program is the result of a grant application with the New Look project sponsored by the Illinois Center for Specialized Professional Support at Illinois State University. Originally designed to provide a series of four to six after-school aviation education sessions to middle-school aged students, the program has evolved and been adapted to meet the needs of a variety of age groups and time frames. As a recipient of two New Look Grant awards, the Let’s Wing It! program was developed primarily with grants from the Illinois Community College Board and the Illinois State Board of Education and funded through the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998. Additional funding for the first two years was provided by SIU Carbondale's Aviation Flight program, University of Illinois Extension’s Jackson County 4-H, Carterville Intermediate School, and the Murphysboro Youth and Recreation Center.