Education

9/11 Flight 93 Classroom Program

The Friends of Flight 93, in partnership with the National Park Service, has developed educational activities for students, teachers, and parents as a way to continue sharing the story of Flight 93. These activities include a resource and lesson on the story of Flight 93 followed by short, mini-activities to engage students in grade levels 4-12.

The 9/11 and Flight 93 educational activities are a way to provide learning resources right from your homes or classrooms. While not a replacement for an on-site visit, with these resources students will still be able to learn about the events on September 11, 2001, Flight 93 and the specific role the passengers and crew aboard played on that day.

These specific activities are designed to work either digitally or paper-based, depending on the education continuity plans for your district. Each activity includes class discussion questions that use the themes of courage and resilience to connect the story of Flight 93 with what we are all experiencing today.

Education Resources & Activities

Click here to download the full packet of Educational Resource Activities!

The above education resource activities are available to experience via Google Classroom by using the class code: 2bqr4ab.

For more background information on the story of 9/11 and Flight 93, click here.

The Pollinator Program

BACKGROUND

The Friends of Flight 93 Pollinator Program is an environmental and educational initiative that focuses on cross-pollination of native pollinators by honey bees. This transfer of pollen is necessary for healthy and productive native & agricultural ecosystems. The Friends of Flight 93 support eight honey bee hives across two locations at Flight 93 National Memorial. These hives house over 500,000 bees. Through native bee surveys it was revealed that Flight 93 National Memorial is home to over 60 species of native bees – all of which visit the memorial’s wildflower fields along with the honey bees!

Flight 93 National Memorial is a former surface coal mine. The bees will help to restore the memorial grounds and the crash site to its natural state, which is now considered sacred ground and the final resting place of the 40 passenger and crew members. The Pollinator Project will help ensure that the natural habitat and ecosystems of the memorial are environmentally restored and will help create a living memorial landscape that will continue telling the story of Flight 93 for generations to come.

Bees play an extremely important role to balancing natural biodiversity. The symbiotic relationship between honey bees and all flowering plants is what balances our ecosystems. Honey bees pollinate one flora in bloom at a time, which makes them super-efficient at ensuring trees, shrubs, flowers, and other wild plants reproduce. In return, the bees gather crucial pollen and nectar to feed and grow their hive. Neither could survive without the other.

Here we have gathered pollinator education resources in one location for educators, and have developed educational activities for students, teachers, and parents as a way to continue sharing the story of Flight 93 by exposing younger children via an emotionally safe topic. These education resources include games, activities, projects, and lessons that can all be completed by a teacher in a classroom or by a parent at home, focusing on honey bees, native bees, and pollination and its importance. All items are available digitally or in print. Currently, activities for students PreK to Grade 2 are available to experience via Google Classroom by using the class code: uylhmvj. With lessons and activities designed to engage children and students as young as preschoolers, these activities are applicable and enjoyable for adults with a thirst for knowledge and a love of the outdoors.

The Friends hope that families will bring their young children to visit Flight 93 National Memorial to see the hives, identify wildflowers, and search for our buzzing bees. 🐝

EDUCATION RESOURCES & ACTIVITIES

Friends of Flight 93

A special science-based Pollinator Curriculum for Kindergarten to grade 2 is now available online! While other grade levels are still in development, it is critical for this piece to be completed first. The goal of this piece is to introduce younger children to the memorial in an age-appropriate manner. Children are naturally curious and will ask questions about what they see around them, giving adults and staff the ability to tell the story of Flight 93 through the pollinators’ natural restoration of the crash site.

Kindergarten to Grade 2 Pollinator Curriculum

The Pollinator Project

The Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial are working with the Pollinator Project! As part of the Friends Pollinator Project at the memorial, we have purchased a BeeSmart Garden Kit from the Pollinator Project! To receive an emailed copy of ANY of The Pollinator Project lessons listed below, simply use our request form to receive the lesson of your choice! It is THAT EASY!

Pollinator Project Lesson Plans

Planet Bee Foundation

The Friends partnership with Planet Bee Foundation offers students a sponsorship to access high-quality environmental education E-STEM distance learning lessons. Lessons are FREE or very low cost. Program fees, if any, are on a sliding scale are available here. Title 1 schools or schools whose students receive Free or Reduced Cost Lunch (FRCL) of 50% or more receive Planet Bee educational programs at no cost. Schools with less than 50% of students enrolled in the Free Reduced Cost Lunch (FRCL) program receive a program's reduced price.

Since its inception in 2015, Planet Bee Foundation has educated over 30,000 students! Teachers can find distance learning program offerings on the website and in this short video!

Interested in these lessons for your students? Register with Planet Bee Foundation today for the lesson of your choice!

Resources

Looking for something educational to do online? Click here to find the Pollinator Popcorn Online Game!

Transportation Scholarships

Regional Pennsylvania school districts are encouraged to apply for transportation funding to visit Flight 93 National Memorial and take part in education programming with the National Park Service Education Program Specialist for grade levels 4-12.

Apply for transportation funding to visit Flight 93 National Memorial. You may send a completed application with a quote from your chosen bus company to: Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial, P.O. Box 911, Shanksville, PA 15560, or e-mail our Learning Center Coordinator at [email protected] with the subject line "Transportation Funding Request."

The educational programming at Flight 93 National Memorial includes lesson plans geared towards grades 4-5 grade, 6-8 and grade levels 9-12, respectively, with a focus on themes of action, honor, democracy and teamwork.

These programs utilize multimedia, exhibits, oral presentations and the memorial landscape to deliver a unique learning opportunity. The Flight 93 National Memorial Learning Center is a classroom where teachers, students, park rangers and volunteers identify and explore the story of Flight 93, and September 11, 2001. Program lengths are adjustable depending on visitation time.

Transportation grant scholarships come on a first-come, first-serve basis. Arrangements for transportation to and from Flight 93 National Memorial will be the responsibility of the teacher or group leader participating. After the education program takes place, bus invoicing must be billed to the Friends. Invoices must include a cover sheet with payment information and instructions for Friends' staff to process grant funding to bus company vendors.

Application for a transportation scholarship does not guarantee financial assistance will be available for your group. Only groups with documented approval prior to date of visit will receive transportation scholarship payments.

National Park Service Education Program Outlines:

Grades 4-5: Everyone and Everybody (2 Hours)
Grades 4-5: A Walk to Remember (4 Hours)
Grades 6-8: We Are Going to Do Something (2 Hours)
Grades 9-12: America Under Attack (2 Hours)

Special thanks to the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, Pirates Charities, and the Education Improvement Tax Credit Program for supporting the education outreach program for the Friends of Flight 93 and at Flight 93 National Memorial.

Flight 93 National Memorial