Tuesday-Thursday, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
break from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM each day
8/24, 8/25, and 8/26 (3 sessions total)
Instructors: Al Gaspar and Taliesin Knol
The Empire of Japan initiated hostilities with the United States on December 7, 1941 with a surprise early-morning attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base. The Japanese struck Wake Island at noon the next day with a wave of tactical bombers launched from the Marshall Islands. The atoll’s defenders had received word of the Pearl Harbor attack several hours earlier, but heavy cloud cover and the absence of radar facilities allowed the Japanese forces to achieve surprise. The Battle of Midway took place June 4–7, 1942, one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy inflicted devastating damage on the Japanese fleet that rendered their aircraft carriers irreparable.
Each session includes four hours of live online instruction with Al Gaspar and Taliesin Knol: two focused on the history of the described battle, and two of facilitated diorama construction in which participants make their own terrain boards and lead troops of 1/72-scale soldiers in war games that offer vivid insights into the military strategies and conflicts that have shaped the world.
Registration for this Adventure will close two weeks prior to the first session date. If you are trying to register after that point, please email us at SummerCamp@si.edu and we will do our best to accommodate your request if space still available.
Materials
- A diorama kit, included in the cost of the program, is mailed to participants 2 weeks prior to the Adventure beginning
- If a kit needs to be mailed to an address other than the one on file (purchaser's address), please email us at SummerCamp@si.edu
- International shipping can be arranged for an additional fee. Be sure to provide us with ample notice to ensure the kit arrives on time.
- If you do not receive your kit within one week prior to your Adventure beginning, please email us at SummerCamp@si.edu
- A detailed list of additional supplies that participants must provide can be found at the top of this page, in the section labeled "Materials for this program." Please have all these materials on hand before the first session.
