Hello young detectives! Put your thinking caps on because we are going to be looking at the life and achievements of Amelia Earhart. An accomplished female pilot, Amelia Earhart changed the world of aviation. One day while flying her plane, she got lost at sea. To this day, we do not know what happened.

This is where you guys come in! I need your help to collect answer questions throughout the story. At the end, we will take what we learned and come to a conclusion as to what you believe happened to Amelia Earhart.

The first step in our investigation is to look at the early days of Amelia Earhart.

Amelia Earhart was born on July 24, 1897 in Kansas. Her family struggled when she was young. They moved from state to state and did not live in very nice houses. She first encountered a plane

at the Iowa State Fair in 1908.

However, she had not yet found them 

very impressive.

 What year did she first see an airplane?

She moved to Chicago where she graduated from Hyde Park High School. Eventually she decided to join the World War I efforts and became a nurse for injured soldiers in Toronto, Canada. Here, she met and befriended many pilots. This is where her passion for flying began.

What was Amelia Earhart's job before becoming a pilot?

After going to an air show with her father, Amelia Earhart knew she had to become a pilot. She took flying lessons from Neta Snook, a famous female pilot. 

Who taught Amelia Earhart how to fly?

Her first airplane was a yellow Kinner Airster. She named it "The Canary."

What color was Amelia Earhart's first airplane?

A year after she started taking

lessons, Amelia Earhart was

already breaking records! She

set the record for the highest

altitude flown by a woman at

14,000 feet. She also was only

the 16th woman to receive her

International Pilots's License. 

Primary source photo form Purdue University

How high did she fly?

Amelia Earhart continued to break and set records. She set the record for fastest a woman had flown at 181.18 miles per hour. In 1928, she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as a passenger. She was an 

overnight sensation and

 a role model for girls

 everywhere!

Primary source photo from Purdue University

What year did she fly across

the Atlantic Ocean?

Amelia Earhart married publicist, George Putnam, in 1931. He helped her write her first book, "20 Hours, 40 Minutes."

What is the name of her

book?

In May of 1932, Amelia Earhart made history when she was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. President Herbert Hoover awarded her the Gold Medal of the National Geographic Society. She was the first woman to receive this honor.

Which award did she receive 

from President Herbert 

Hoover?

Listen up, young detectives! Here is where the mystery comes in. At the age of 39, Amelia Earhart was an accomplished pilot. She had flown many impressive flights. However, there was one flight that no woman had completed before and Amelia Earhart was determined to be the first. She wanted to be the first female pilot to fly solo around the world. 

She departed for her round-world trip from Miami, Florida on June 1, 1937. She traveled 22,000 miles before disappearing July of that same year, never to be heard from again. 

Where did she go? To this day we do not know, but there are some theories. Shall we go through them? 

The first theory is that Amelia Earhart unfortunately crashed on her way to one of her stops. It is believed that her aircraft ran out of fuel before she could land on Howland Island between Australia and Hawaii. A 10-day search was issued following her disappearance, but there were no signs of her or her plane.