Children will learn about science of flight as it pertains to materials used as well as design. They will be able to experiment with different materials to see how the weight of an object affects its flight as well as design by being able to use parts of different shapes and sizes.
Children will be putting together a series of planes from different materials that are different in weight and size; they will be guided through how to make them as well as what each one does well (i.e distance, time in the air, speed). This project will allow them to play with airplanes hand-on, making it fun, and also allow them to experiment with the parts of different shapes, sizes, and weights to see how these factors affect the flight of their planes. The kids will be able to design planes that focus on distance, design, or time spent in air and compete with each other in these categories.
This project is very hand-on for kids which keeps them engaged and entertained and by having the different goals (distance, design, flight time) they can try to adjust their planes and see how different designs and materials impact how their planes fly.
Different materials will be needed to make the planes, such as paper, cardboard, and wood. We will need to have laser cut materials in certain shapes/sizes for the body, tail, and wings of the plane so that the shapes fit into each other no matter the material. For this project, since we cannot lasercut, we will be making an instruction guide with layouts of the plane designs for teachers or parents to be able to recreate this activity.
Tasks will include design of parts, design/creation of worksheets, layout of activity plan. We will all work on designing the parts. We will split up the work in the designing and creation of the worksheets between potential teacher/parent versions and a student version (content: all, information design/layout: ethan)
Hey teachers and parents!
This is a fun and easy activity to do with kids that will teach them about planes and flight. The activity is easy to set up, simple to understand, fun for all, and serves as an introduction to engineering!
Objectives
- To teach kids about airplanes and flight
- Kids will be able to experience hands-on how different designs impact flight
How to set up this activity
What you’ll need:
- Various materials to cut plane parts out of
- Lightweight materials, such as paper, cardstock, cardboard, plastic, etc. will work best
- Scissors, X-Acto knife, or laser cutter to cut out the provided outlines for the plane parts
Setting up:
- Have cut out plane parts in various materials. Kids can either copy one of our provided designs, or make their own!
- Kids can put their planes to the test by seeing whose plane flies the farthest, stays in the air the longest, is the lightest, or has the best design.
Pre-activity questions:
- How are the materials we’re using different from each other?
- What are the different design choices you can make while building your plane? (distance, flight time, design, etc.)
Post-activity reflection:
- What worked best while building the planes? What didn’t work out?
- What did you notice about the designs of the different planes and how they flew?
- What impacts flight time? Distance?
Student Worksheet: Engineering Flight (student copy)
Teacher Instruction Worksheet: Engineering Flight (teacher copy)
Plane Design Sketches:
