Women as Aeronauts

Examine the central role women played in the history of aeronautics, the many barriers they faced, and the scientific advances they made despite the obstacles. 

Learning Targets

• Make connections to scientific fields related to aeronautics; 
• Conduct independent historical research to build content knowledge and context; 
• Communicate the barriers that women scientists faced in the 19th century; and 
• Communicate the trailblazing efforts that women aeronauts accomplished. 

Purpose

• To introduce the context of the lesson and Driving Questions; 
• To engage students in exploring their thinking about the lesson topic; 
• To reveal students’ background knowledge to the teacher; and 
• To engage students’ interest. 

The purpose of this lesson is for students to build background knowledge on women aeronauts to inform their viewing of the film The Aeronauts and to have a deeper and more accurate context for the Hot Air Balloon Engineering Challenge.