The Battle of Midway 80 years ago

Eli Whitney Museum

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for ages 9 – 12

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2022 Summer Program

Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.
- Water Rat, Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Gramme 1908

A week devoted to the learning that follows floating and moving things on water.
~ Begin each day with a quick experimental boat challenge.
~ Each morning: work on a rugged battery-powered, radio-controlled aircraft carrier
~ Help construct a micro pacific ocean to practice captaining your boat.
~ Construct models of the airplanes that featured prominently in the battle
~ Each afternoon: join a team to glue up a cardboard dinghy to paddle in a Friday Regatta.

2022 marks the 80th anniversary of The Battle of Midway. On June 4, 1942 the tiny Island of Midway became the stage for one of the most decisive naval battles of all time while ushering in a new era of naval combat. Gone were the days of the battleship being the most powerful vessel in a fleet. It was now the era of the aircraft carrier. Targeted by Japan because of its strategic position in the northern Pacific, the United States successfully defended Midway Atoll against an enemy that up to this point seemed unstoppable. Japan was not able to recover from its losses - the United States sank four carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy and is regarded as the turning point in the war in the Pacific.


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