"IT was a wonderful experience for our students...many students said they wanted to go back with their families...they loved the simulators...flying the plane...the guides were wonderful and made each…

"IT was a wonderful experience for our students...many students said they wanted to go back with their families...they loved the simulators...flying the plane...the guides were wonderful and made each station engaging for the students... What an awesome experience for students to hear and see history from those who served our great country...this is a field trip that truly supports the curriculum we teach in our classroom... I would recommend this experience to all students in our state...not just our district." ...MRS. Cindy galeone, social studies teacher. Classified by the state of florida as an educational institution, the military heritage museum has always seen itself as more than just a museum. Part of the museum's vision is to serve as an education-centered institution. An institution that works directly with local schools and other organizations offering history and stem (science, technology, engineering, math) based inter-active learning experiences to students of all ages. The military heritage museum contributes to the ongoing education of its constituents by providing onsite history and stem learning experiences through a wide range of learning methods including remote learning opportunities. With its mission-based focus on education, the museum has a formed a collaboration with the charlotte county public schools focused on one of the school district's four strategic objectives: improve the academic performance in US history in grades 5-12. With almost 72% of the students classified as economically disadvantaged and 23% performing under the minimal state standards for US history, the need was evident and the museum was well positioned to align its services and leverage its capabilities to meet this need. The military heritage museum has lots of artifacts, inter-active activities, a 247-seat theater, as well as audio-video, virtual reality and simulators through-out its facility. Perhaps though, the greatest and most significant asset in the museum, is the museum's eighty volunteer veterans. Veterans who serve, not only as program guides, but also provide insight and comfort to those seeking to learn more about what IT was like for their family members and ancestors to serve in the military. With such a wide offering of services, the museum's core target groups are students, veterans, families, seniors, and tourists. In april of 2019, the museum relocated to an incredible new facility just a short distance from its previous location. During the designing of the new location's business plan, the importance of reaching out to students was elevated as one of the top priorities. The concept of leveraging the large corps of volunteer veterans to support the local school district's goals, especially in US history, was fully endorsed by the museum's board of directors. Prior to opening the museum in its new location, dialogue took place between the museum and school district personnel to envision the possibilities. The discussions led to the creation of history academy, of which the purpose is to provide educational based programming to students with an emphasis on US history. History academy provides a unique opportunity for school aged youth from k-12 to learn, explore and create projects. While primarily focusing on US history, the curriculum also supports the educational themes of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (steam). "arts" now being added with the recent renovations of the 247-seat theater to also serve as a performing arts venue. The program is a collaboration with charlotte county public schools with a goal to help district students meet or exceed florida state US history performance standards. Educational-based activities take place in designated school classrooms and at the museum. With a purpose and clear objective defined, the next steps led to a design and development stage. A history academy steering committee was put in place by the museum board of directors to provide o