We love the National Museum of the Marine Corps. This museum is awesome to visit, with accurate and touching historical displays. The National Museum of the Marine Corps has a great children’s program as well called NMMC kids. This weekend in October, they have an event called Semper Force happening. Robotics demonstrations by George Mason students, a Star Wars costume contest, Legos, an interactive online scavenger hunt and more will be happening on October 13th from 10 am – 3 pm at this out of this galaxy event. I have a good feeling about this.
We virtually sat down with Matt, one of the current NMMC Educators, to discuss the Semper Force program.
MilMomAdventures (MM): Is Semper Force part of NMMC kids?
NMMC Kids: Yes, it is a new venture by the Education Department at the National Museum of the Marine Corps to develop engaging, age-appropriate social media content for students, educators, families, and visitors to promote an awareness and understanding of the many aspects of the United States Marine Corps.
MM: When is it?
NMMC Kids: October 13, 2018 from 10am to 3pm
MM: Who Created the Program?
NMMC Kids: Although various aspects of the program have been thought up and coordinated by several members of the NMMC Education Department staff, the credit for the idea of a Star Wars goes to Anna Polanco, one of our Special Assistants and an avid Star Wars fans. I (Matt Eng) was able to use my own personal background with social media and design into some of the educational programming we are providing for this event like the Death Star Trench Run, trivia games, and online scavenger hunt. The online scavenger hunt was a blast – we used green screen technology to take visitors around the galleries, gather clues, and help save the “rebellion” against the “empire.” It’s a fun way to incorporate the Star Wars universe into Marine Corps history while still highlighting our impressive museum galleries.
MM: What are the goals for participation?
NMMC Kids: If we can get visitors (especially our youngest visitors) here under the banner of Star Wars and they come out learning a little bit about the United States Marine Corps, I feel like we did our job for this event. Every event or program put on by the education department has an educational component that ties back to the United States Marine Corps of the past, present, and future. Our Star Wars event will not be different in that respect.
MM: Who is the target audience?
Living so close to Quantico, of course we always want to focus on the military family. Our new NMMCKids social media platform has already done a lot to foster a community for military families in the area to come to for a variety of family-friendly events. One of the goals of our Department is to find the “unlikely visitor” for a military museum, i.e. K-12 audiences, home school families, and military families. This is the perfect event because Star Wars is so popular now for kids and adults alike. So, although this will draw interest from everyone from 0 to 99, our target audience are children. If we can get them here under the banner of Star Wars and they come out learning a little bit about the United States Marine Corps, I feel like we did our job.
So – in the words of Yoda – “Do or do not, there is no try,” and check this event out if you are in the Northern Virginia area. If you are a Star Wars fan, this is your event. If you are a history buff, this is your event.
Will you go October 13th to the National Museum of the Marine Corps? We have enjoyed so many NMMCKids events in the past, and this one is sure to be a wonderful interactive experience! May the Force Be With You.
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