WOW! FAQ

  • Our WOW! lessons are presented by a "Wizard" from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
  • WOW! lessons are free.
  • WOW! lessons help you teach your Department of Education Standards with materials that may not always be available to you.
  • The WOW! team strives to provide a high-quality lesson for you and your students.
  • We are continuously updating, revising, and adding to the lessons we offer.
  • WOW! lessons include hands-on activities with minimal lecture.

  • Choose the lesson you’d like presented to your class/classes.
  • Using the link, fill out the WOW! Request Form.
  • Our Program Manager will contact you and confirm the request has been received.
  • Our Program Manager shares the details with our WPAFB volunteers, coordinates schedule availability, and finalizes the schedule by confirming the date and time with you.
  • Scheduling your lessons and Wizard visits are our first priority. The information is continuously shared, hoping to match a Wizard's schedule with yours. We very much appreciate your flexibility in case a Wizard is not matched with your first request. Sometimes, trying for an alternate date is all that is needed.

  • Our Wizards are volunteers who are Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) employees and Active-Duty Military personnel.
  • They recognize the importance of STEM Outreach, and enjoy volunteering and working with students.
  • Their work schedules limit their availability. Some Wizards have the flexibility of volunteering once a week, while others can only volunteer once a month, or less.
  • When you request a lesson, the WOW! team may be unable to schedule it immediately. Our program is volunteer-dependent. Wizard availability is based on workload and/or schedule.

  • We cannot guarantee that a volunteer will be available for any specific date or time.
  • Wizards review the classroom requests and compare it to their schedules.
  • If a volunteer is available for a lesson, they contact our Program Manager so the lesson can be confirmed and scheduled. Giving several date options on the request form may make it easier to schedule with a Wizard.

  • Our Program Manager will contact you and confirm your request has been received.
  • As soon as a Wizard notifies our team that they are available for your lesson, you will be contacted again to confirm that the lesson is scheduled.

  • You are welcome to request a lesson for all of your classes, or for your teaching team.
  • We will only present to 1 class at a time.
  • Our Wizards typically cannot leave work for an entire day of volunteering. The solution may be finding more than 1 Wizard, or scheduling the lessons across several days.

  • Lessons are typically 45-60 minutes per class.
  • Remember that we will only present to 1 class at a time.

  • Please allow at least a few weeks.
  • Scheduling is always dependent on volunteer availability.

  • Of course!
  • The WOW! program is here to help you provide the lessons you need.
  • We are always looking for inspiration for new lessons and want to work with you to ensure high-quality, hands-on activities.

  • If a Wizard can't be scheduled for the requested date, we are happy to try other dates.
  • If scheduling a Wizard visit for WOW! in the Classroom does not work out, you are always able to borrow the materials from WOW! on Wheels to present the lesson yourself. Those materials will be delivered to you.
  • Another options is to borrow the materials from WOW! on Wheels to present the lesson via online video through WOW! TV for Teachers.
  • Scheduling your lessons and Wizard visits are our first priority. The information is continuously shared, hoping to match a Wizard's schedule with yours. We very much appreciate your flexibility in case a Wizard is not matched with your first request. Sometimes, trying for an alternate date is all that is needed.

  • If you need to cancel a lesson for any reason (snow day, power outage, the principal scheduled an assembly, etc.), please notify the WOW! office as soon as possible. We prefer a Wizard not to make the trip to your building if not needed.
  • We are happy to reschedule any cancelled lessons!

  • We have a few lessons that are best done outside.
  • We have listed that information in the lesson summary on our WOW! in the Classroom page.

  • We have listed the target grade levels for each lesson in the lesson summary on our WOW! in the Classroom page.
  • We have also listed the Ohio Department of Education standards that are met by each lesson.
  • The grade levels listed are only a suggestion. Please feel free to request whatever you think is best for your students.

We love it when you are WOWed! by a certain Wizard, and want him or her back in your classroom. If you have a special request, please let us know and we will reach out to that Wizard to work out scheduling.

We are able to schedule WOW! in the Classroom for schools within a 35-mile radius of WPAFB.

  • Choose the materials you would like to borrow for your class/classes.
  • Using the link, fill out the WOW! Request Form.
  • Our Program Manager will contact you and confirm the request has been received.
  • Our team will ensure the materials are available for the timeframe requested and confirm our delivery schedule with you.
  • All deliveries to schools are on Thursdays, and pick-ups are on Wednesdays.

  • All deliveries to schools are on Thursdays, and pick-ups are the following Wednesday.
  • If you need the materials for more than 1 week, please let us know. As long as materials are available, we are happy to extend the time period.

  • Our courier will deliver items to your school's front office.
  • The crate or box will be marked WOW! on Wheels with a slip attached with the requesting teacher's name on it.
  • Our driver will pick the materials up in your school's front office.
  • We cannot guarantee specific delivery or pick-up times, although every attempt is made for completion by noon.
  • Deliveries and pick-ups for homeschooling parents will be in the parking lot of the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

  • If a lesson plan or activity sheets are available, they will automatically be included with the materials.
  • If you create a lesson or activity sheet that you would like to share with us, we would love to see it!

We ask that you notify us if anything is lost or broken, so replacements or repairs can be made before it is borrowed again.

  • Please allow at least a few weeks.
  • Scheduling is always dependent on availability.

How can I use WOW! TV?
  • WOW! TV videos can be played for your students instead of having a volunteer come in, and instead of presenting it yourself.
  • We will offer videos of all of our WOW! in the Classroom lessons.
  • The lesson is complete on its own - it is exactly what a Wizard would teach and do during an in-person visit.
  • During the video, you can pause so students have time to complete the hands-on activities.

What is WOW! DIY and WOW! TV for Kids?
  • These are great STEM activities for students and families to do at home.
  • All of the materials are easy to find, or might be things students already have at home.
  • Our DIY videos have an activity sheet that you can print for easy to follow directions.

WOW! DIY and WOW! TV for Kids bring easy at-home activities to students of all age ranges, interests, and academic backgrounds.

What is WOW! Teaching Tools?

These are fun and educational STEM activities posted by teachers and parents.

  • This is an alternative for our WOW! in the Classroom lessons when it isn't possible to schedule one of our WPAFB volunteers to visit your classroom for an in-person lesson.
  • Our volunteer can run the lesson via Zoom or Google Meet from the WOW! office.

Yes! We will deliver all of the materials necessary for the lesson (within the 35-mile radius).

  • Choose the lesson you’d like presented to your class/classes.
  • Using the link, fill out the WOW! Request Form.
  • Our Program Manager will contact you and confirm the request has been received.
  • Our Program Manager shares the details with our WPAFB volunteers, coordinates schedule availability, and finalizes the schedule by confirming the date and time with you.
  • Scheduling your lessons and Wizard visits are our first priority. The information is continuously shared, hoping to match a Wizard's schedule with yours. We very much appreciate your flexibility in case a Wizard is not matched with your first request. Sometimes, trying for an alternate date is all that is needed.

No. Everything else is the same.

This Flight allows parents that are homeschooling to take advantage of the same resources that have been available to teachers in the classroom.

All WOW! Flights are available to Homeschooling families, with a few differences:

  • WOW! in the Classroom - Our volunteer can present at a local library, church, or other meeting place.
  • We request a minimum of 10 students for WOW! in the Classroom, WOW! Remote Lessons, and WOW! Demonstrations.

  • Using the link, fill out the WOW! Request Form.
  • Our Program Manager will contact you and confirm the request has been received.
  • For WOW! in the Classroom or WOW! Remote Lesson requests:
    • Our Program Manager shares the details with our WPAFB volunteers, coordinates schedule availability, and finalizes the schedule by confirming the date and time with you.
  • For WOW! on Wheels requests:
    • Our team will make sure the materials are available for the timeframe requested and will confirm our delivery schedule with you.

What is this flight?
  • This Flight allows you to schedule a STEM experience for your students without hands-on activities.
  • Our volunteer will demonstrate an experiment or activity for your students, discuss what is happening, and interact with your students while they experience an educational Q&A session.
  • WOW! Demonstrations can be presented in person or remotely