The Spy Museum is pleased to announce these new student programs that can be booked in addition to a group visit or stand alone. To book these programs call Laura Hicken at 202.654.0932 or e-mail LHicken@spymuseum.org
Can students change the course of history? Enliven your teaching of the Cold War by participating in a case-based simulation in which students play the role of intelligence analysts at the CIA in 1962. By examining declassified intelligence documents and U-2 photographs at various stages of the Cuban Missile Crisis, students “live” the crisis rather than only read about it. In this social studies standards-based lesson, students are challenged to make decisions and recommendations based on primary documents and photos. The outcome of the crisis is in their hands: will their analysis provide President Kennedy with the information he needs to avoid nuclear catastrophe?
Key concepts and skills:
GRADES: 7 TO 12 — TIME: 75 MINUTES — PRICE: $25 PER STUDENT
Includes:
Your students can gain first-hand knowledge of the shadow world of spying in a spy debriefing with a former CIA Case Officer. In this 30-minute program, students will learn about the life of a spy, how intelligence is collected, and the
role of spying in American government. Students will also have an opportunity to “interrogate” the speaker. A pre-visit classroom guide will be provided to assist you in preparing your students for this unique opportunity.
GRADES: 5 – 12 — TIME: 30 MINUTES — PRICE: $25 PER STUDENT
(scheduling is subject to availability of speaker)
Key Concepts and Skills:
Includes:
Do your students have what it takes to be a spy? Now they can find out. In an action-packed hour, students take on the role of U.S. intelligence officers on an international mission to locate a missing nuclear device on the verge of being sold to a rogue nation. This intense experience combines live-action, video characters, themed environments, special effects, and hands-on activities. Participants take part in an intrigue-filled adventure based on an actual case drawn from the files of U.S. intelligence. Challenged to “feel, think, and act” like real intelligence officers, they uncover layers of deception to reveal a world of double agents and corrupt officials. In a setting where all is not as it seems and everyone has a hidden agenda, they must decide who they should trust. Will their decision be the right one? Will they find the device? In a high-stakes finale, the team must debate and determine its final course of action. Some teams will succeed and others will fail…their actions will determine their unique ending and ultimate score. Students leave Operation Spy either congratulated on their success or aware of their failure, and conscious of the real challenges of participating in the “great game” of espionage. Following the 60-minute experience, students will participate in a 30-minute debriefing that will engage them in a discussion about the outcomes of their decisions. They will also learn about the real intelligence case of scientist A.Q. Kahn, considered to be the father of Pakistan’s nuclear program, who inspired the storyline in Operation Spy. Students will debate the real decisions and intelligence questions facing the CIA in this currently unfolding case.
Key Concepts and Skills:
GRADES: 7 – 12 — TIME: 90 MINUTES — PRICE: $25 PER STUDENT
Includes:
Sure your students are crafty, but can they become a code cracker on a top secret mission? Addressing national mathematic curriculum standards, this program provides an up close and personal viewing of one of the Museum’s most famous artifacts, the German WII Enigma machine. Students will learn about how the Enigma functioned to shorten the war and how codes and ciphers in general function in the world of espionage. After this, students adjourn to the classroom where they become intelligence officers in the field making and breaking codes. In teams, they run a short mission in which they use various methods of enciphering and deciphering messages. Methods used for code cracking include a skytale, Caesar cipher wheel, and Cardono grille.
Key Concepts and Skills:
GRADES: 5 - 7 — TIME: 60 MINUTES — PRICE: $25 PER STUDENT
Includes:
*Not available until February 2010
