Do Schools Really Stifle Creativity?
Orville and Wilbur Wright’s father was a bishop with responsibilities that required travel. He often brought home gifts and toys for his children. The family home was filled with artifacts of learning but the Wright brothers trace their interest in aviation back to playing with a rubber band-powered toy helicopter gifted by their father.
Flash forward to April 19, 2021. A tiny helicopter named Ingenuity has hitched a ride on the latest NASA Mars Perseverance expedition. It was a seven-month voyage covering 173 million miles. In contrast, the Wright brothers’ famous first flight at Kitty Hawk traveled 120 feet for about 12 seconds. While the Wright flight is recognized as the first manned flight on Earth, the Ingenuity became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet. It lasted 39 seconds after rising to a height of 10 feet. Fittingly, NASA has honored these two historic flights by naming the location on Mars, Wright Brothers Field.