research question for paper airplanes

For New Insights into Aerodynamics, Scientists Turn to Paper Airplanes

A series of experiments using paper airplanes reveals new aerodynamic effects--findings that enhance our understanding of flight stability.

Findings Unveil Mechanisms that Explain Flight Stability

A series of experiments using paper airplanes reveals new aerodynamic effects, a team of scientists has discovered. Its findings enhance our understanding of flight stability and could inspire new types of flying robots and small drones.

“The study started with simple curiosity about what makes a good paper airplane and specifically what is needed for smooth gliding,” explains Leif Ristroph, an associate professor at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and an author of the study , which appears in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics . “Answering such basic questions ended up being far from child’s play. We discovered that the aerodynamics of how paper airplanes keep level flight is really very different from the stability of conventional airplanes.”

“Birds glide and soar in an effortless way, and paper airplanes, when tuned properly, can also glide for long distances,” adds author Jane Wang, a professor of engineering and physics at Cornell University. “Surprisingly, there has been no good mathematical model for predicting this seemingly simple but subtle gliding flight.”

Since we can make complicated modern airplanes fly, the researchers say, one might think we know all there is to know about the simplest flying machines. 

“But paper airplanes, while simple to make, involve surprisingly complex aerodynamics,” notes Ristroph.

The paper’s authors began their study by considering what is needed for a plane to glide smoothly. Since paper airplanes have no engine and rely on gravity and proper design for their movement, they are good candidates for exploring factors behind flight stability.

To investigate this phenomenon, the researchers conducted lab experiments by launching paper airplanes with differing centers of mass through the air. The results, along with those from studying plates falling in a water tank, allowed the team to devise a new aerodynamic model and also a “flight simulator” capable of predicting the motions.

A video and image showing the experimental results may be downloaded from Google Drive .

To find the best design, the researchers placed different amounts of thin copper tape on the front part of the paper planes, giving them varied center of mass locations. Lead weights added to the plates in water served the same purpose.

“The key criterion of a successful glider is that the center of mass must be in the ‘just right’ place,” Ristroph explains. “Good paper airplanes achieve this with the front edge folded over several times or by an added paper clip, which requires a little trial and error.”

In the experiments, the researchers found that the flight motions depended sensitively on the center of mass location. Specifically, if the weight was at the center of the wing or only displaced somewhat from the middle, it underwent wild motions, such as fluttering or tumbling. If the weight was displaced too far toward one edge, then the flier quickly dove downwards and crashed. In between, however, there was a “sweet spot” for the center of mass that gave stable gliding.

The researchers coupled the experimental work with a mathematical model that served as the basis of a “flight simulator,” a computer program that successfully reproduced the different flight motions. It also helped explain why a paper airplane is stable in its glide. When the center of mass is in the “sweet spot,” the aerodynamic force on the plane’s wing pushes the wing back down if the plane moves upward and back up if it moves downward.

“The location of the aerodynamic force or center of pressure varies with the angle of flight in such a way to ensure stability,” explains Ristroph. 

He notes that this dynamic does not occur with conventional aircraft wings, which are airfoils—structures whose shapes work to generate lift. 

“The effect we found in paper airplanes does not happen for the traditional airfoils used as aircraft wings, whose center of pressure stays fixed in place across the angles that occur in flight,” Ristroph says. “The shifting of the center of pressure thus seems to be a unique property of thin, flat wings, and this ends up being the secret to the stable flight of paper airplanes.”

“This is why airplanes need a separate tail wing as a stabilizer while a paper plane can get away with just a main wing that gives both lift and stability,” he concludes. “We hope that our findings will be useful in small-scale flight applications, where you may want a minimal design that does not require a lot of extra flight surfaces, sensors, and controllers.”

The paper’s other authors were Huilin Li, a doctoral candidate at NYU Shanghai, and Tristan Goodwill, a doctoral candidate at the Courant Institute’s Department of Mathematics.

The work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (DMS-1847955, DMS-1646339).

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On the eleventh day of Christmas —

Experiments with paper airplanes reveal surprisingly complex aerodynamics, how these gliders keep level flight is different from the stability of airplanes..

Jennifer Ouellette - Jan 4, 2023 10:06 pm UTC

Drop a flat piece of paper and it will flutter and tumble through the air as it falls, but a well-fashioned paper airplane will glide smoothly. Although these structures look simple, their aerodynamics are surprisingly complex. Researchers at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences conducted a series of experiments involving paper airplanes to explore this transition and develop a mathematical model to predict flight stability, according to a March paper published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

“The study started with simple curiosity about what makes a good paper airplane and specifically what is needed for smooth gliding," said co-author Leif Ristroph . "Answering such basic questions ended up being far from child’s play. We discovered that the aerodynamics of how paper airplanes keep level flight is really very different from the stability of conventional airplanes.”

Nobody knows who invented the first paper airplane, but China began making paper on a large scale around 500 BCE, with the emergence of origami and paper-folding as a popular art form between 460 and 390 BCE. Paper airplanes have long been studied as a means of learning more about the aerodynamics of flight. For instance, Leonardo da Vinci famously built a model plane out of parchment while dreaming up flying machines and used paper models to test his design for an ornithopter. In the 19th century, British engineer and inventor Sir George Cayley —sometimes called the "father of aviation"—studied the gliding performance of paper airplanes to design a glider capable of carrying a human.

An amusing "scientist playing with paper planes" anecdote comes from physicist Theodore von Kármán . In his 1967 memoir The Wind and Beyond , he recalled a formal 1924 banquet in Delft, The Netherlands, where fellow physicist Ludwig Prandtl constructed a paper airplane out of a menu to demonstrate the mechanics of flight to von Kármán's sister, who was seated next to him. When he threw the paper plane, "It landed on the shirtfront of the French minister of education, much to the embarrassment of my sister and others at the banquet," von Kármán wrote.

While scientists have clearly made great strides in aerodynamics—particularly about aircraft—Ristroph et al . noted that there was not a good mathematical model for predicting the simpler, subtler gliding flight of paper airplanes. It was already well-known that displacing the center of mass results in various flight trajectories, some more stable than others. “The key criterion of a successful glider is that the center of mass must be in the ‘just right’ place,” said Ristroph . “Good paper airplanes achieve this with the front edge folded over several times or by an added paper clip, which requires a little trial and error.”

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Channel ars technica.

Paper Airplanes Plans

A glider is a special kind of aircraft that has no engine. In flight, a glider has three forces acting on it as compared to the four forces that act on a powered aircraft. Both types of aircraft are subjected to the forces of lift, drag, and weight. The powered aircraft has an engine that generates thrust, while the glider has no thrust.

Types of Glider Aircraft

There are many different types of glider aircraft.  Paper airplanes  are the simplest aircraft to build and fly, and students can learn the basics of aircraft motion by flying paper airplanes. Building and flying balsa wood or Styrofoam gliders is an inexpensive way for students to have fun while learning the basics of aerodynamics.  Hang-gliders  are piloted aircraft that are launched by leaping off the side of a hill or by being towed aloft.  Piloted gliders  are launched by ground based catapults, or are towed aloft by a powered aircraft then cut free to glide for hours over many miles. The Wright Brothers perfected the design of the first airplane and gained piloting experience through a series of glider flights from 1900 to 1903. The Space Shuttle flies as a glider during reentry and landing; the rocket engines are used only during liftoff.

On the graphic at the top of this page, there are two paper airplane designs shown: Paper Airplane #1 (PA-1), in blue at the lower right, and Paper Airplane #2 (PA-2), in red at the upper left. Both of these aircraft are constructed by folding an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. The plans for these aircraft are provided below.

To obtain your own copy of PA-1 click here  and save the Power Point file. Open Power Point and follow the directions written on the aircraft to obtain a two-sided copy of the plans from your printer. The plans will look like this:

Constructing an Aircraft

To construct the aircraft, fold on the solid lines in the prescribed numerical order (1,2,3..) always folding to the inside. Cover the number with the fold. The dashed lines on the plans indicate places to cut with a scissors. The PA-1 is designed to be highly maneuverable and employs both ailerons and a rudder. If both ailerons are turned upward, the aircraft will loop. If one is turned up and the other down, and the rudder is fixed straight, the aircraft will roll. If the rudder is turned, the aircraft will perform a banked turn.

To obtain your own copy of PA-2 click here  and save the Power Point file. Open Power Point and follow the directions written on the aircraft to obtain a two-sided copy of the plans from your printer. The plans will look like this:

To construct the aircraft, fold on the solid lines in the prescribed numerical order (1,2,3..) always folding to the inside. Cover the number with the fold. The PA-2 is designed to fly fast and far.

Students should build and fly both aircraft to learn how differences in design affect the flight performance of an aircraft. After experimenting with paper airplanes, the student is ready to move up to more challenging aircraft such as wooden or Styrofoam gliders.

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For new insights into aerodynamics, scientists turn to paper airplanes

Findings unveil mechanisms that explain flight stability.

A series of experiments using paper airplanes reveals new aerodynamic effects, a team of scientists has discovered. Its findings enhance our understanding of flight stability and could inspire new types of flying robots and small drones.

"The study started with simple curiosity about what makes a good paper airplane and specifically what is needed for smooth gliding," explains Leif Ristroph, an associate professor at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and an author of the study, which appears in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics . "Answering such basic questions ended up being far from child's play. We discovered that the aerodynamics of how paper airplanes keep level flight is really very different from the stability of conventional airplanes."

"Birds glide and soar in an effortless way, and paper airplanes, when tuned properly, can also glide for long distances," adds author Jane Wang, a professor of engineering and physics at Cornell University. "Surprisingly, there has been no good mathematical model for predicting this seemingly simple but subtle gliding flight."

Since we can make complicated modern airplanes fly, the researchers say, one might think we know all there is to know about the simplest flying machines.

"But paper airplanes, while simple to make, involve surprisingly complex aerodynamics," notes Ristroph.

The paper's authors began their study by considering what is needed for a plane to glide smoothly. Since paper airplanes have no engine and rely on gravity and proper design for their movement, they are good candidates for exploring factors behind flight stability.

To investigate this phenomenon, the researchers conducted lab experiments by launching paper airplanes with differing centers of mass through the air. The results, along with those from studying plates falling in a water tank, allowed the team to devise a new aerodynamic model and also a "flight simulator" capable of predicting the motions.

To find the best design, the researchers placed different amounts of thin copper tape on the front part of the paper planes, giving them varied center of mass locations. Lead weights added to the plates in water served the same purpose.

"The key criterion of a successful glider is that the center of mass must be in the 'just right' place," Ristroph explains. "Good paper airplanes achieve this with the front edge folded over several times or by an added paper clip, which requires a little trial and error."

In the experiments, the researchers found that the flight motions depended sensitively on the center of mass location. Specifically, if the weight was at the center of the wing or only displaced somewhat from the middle, it underwent wild motions, such as fluttering or tumbling. If the weight was displaced too far toward one edge, then the flier quickly dove downwards and crashed. In between, however, there was a "sweet spot" for the center of mass that gave stable gliding.

The researchers coupled the experimental work with a mathematical model that served as the basis of a "flight simulator," a computer program that successfully reproduced the different flight motions. It also helped explain why a paper airplane is stable in its glide. When the center of mass is in the "sweet spot," the aerodynamic force on the plane's wing pushes the wing back down if the plane moves upward and back up if it moves downward.

"The location of the aerodynamic force or center of pressure varies with the angle of flight in such a way to ensure stability," explains Ristroph.

He notes that this dynamic does not occur with conventional aircraft wings, which are airfoils -- structures whose shapes work to generate lift.

"The effect we found in paper airplanes does not happen for the traditional airfoils used as aircraft wings, whose center of pressure stays fixed in place across the angles that occur in flight," Ristroph says. "The shifting of the center of pressure thus seems to be a unique property of thin, flat wings, and this ends up being the secret to the stable flight of paper airplanes."

"This is why airplanes need a separate tail wing as a stabilizer while a paper plane can get away with just a main wing that gives both lift and stability," he concludes. "We hope that our findings will be useful in small-scale flight applications, where you may want a minimal design that does not require a lot of extra flight surfaces, sensors, and controllers."

The paper's other authors were Huilin Li, a doctoral candidate at NYU Shanghai, and Tristan Goodwill, a doctoral candidate at the Courant Institute's Department of Mathematics.

The work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (DMS-1847955, DMS-1646339).

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Materials provided by New York University . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Huilin Li, Tristan Goodwill, Z. Jane Wang, Leif Ristroph. Centre of mass location, flight modes, stability and dynamic modelling of gliders . Journal of Fluid Mechanics , 2022; 937 DOI: 10.1017/jfm.2022.89

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Cool Science: Paper airplanes, insect wings and the future of tiny drones

Conduct your own aerodynamics experiment at home

For nearly 200 years, in the great pursuit of knowledge about aerodynamics, researchers have been fascinated by paper airplanes. Even the simplest design – a plain sheet of paper with no wings or fins, nothing resembling a modern airplane – can provide insights into complex aerodynamic principles.

A rectangular sheet of paper will tumble to the ground like confetti, but adding just the right amount of weight, in just the right location, affects how the paper flies.

Leif Ristroph, an associate professor at New York University and self-described paper airplane fanatic, said the idea to study the aerodynamics of a falling sheet of paper began with curiosity about the movement.

“The magic that makes a paper airplane glide and not flutter is how you weight it. You don’t need all the other aspects,” Ristroph said. “It feels like someone must have observed this before because it seems so basic but I couldn’t find it. It’s worth understanding, then.”

And while designing a passenger airplane that resembles a sheet of paper is a horrible idea, he said, the research could contribute to new ways of thinking about the design of simple aircraft such as tiny drones.

Observations in air and water

Researchers added strips of metallic tape to one of the long edges of a rectangular sheet to create varying degrees of front weight. When dropped, each sheet moves in a unique way. “There is kind of a magic spot for the balance point where you can get the best glide. If the balance point is too close to the middle, you will see fluttering and tumbling motions. If the balance point is too far forward, it will nose-dive and crash. The best point is about halfway between the middle of the sheet and the front edge. Then you will see a nice glider,” Ristroph said.

Part of Ristroph’s work for his doctorate in physics was studying insect flight and how flapping wings affect flight control and stability. The paper airplane study was not part of his planned research under a U.S. National Science Foundation grant , but the relationship between insect wings and falling paper stood out, and the results contribute to a more general understanding of animal flight and swimming dynamics.

Plus, sheets of paper are easier to maintain in the laboratory than insects, he said.

Ristroph also made observations using a water tank and thin plates of plastic, whose “flight” through water (video above) are governed by the same physics that determines the motions of paper falling through the air. In both instances, the rate and control of the fall was affected by the location of the weight and the impact it had on the center of mass. There is a “sweet spot” for the center of mass that produces a stable glide path.

Based on the results, Ristroph and his team created a mathematical model that serves as the basis of a “flight simulator,” a computer program that reproduces the different flight motions. No such model had previously existed for predicting gliding flight.

“The simulator can produce the full range of motions accurately. It describes the forces acting on the plate and finds out how the flyers should move based on the forces used in the equation. I think for the scientific community, that will translate well into something useful for everyone involved,” he said.

The findings could also contribute to new design methods for drones. “There are a lot of people working on making very small-scale flying robots. There are even some designs that are passive flyers – not powered – that are modeled on flying plant seeds that twirl like helicopters when they fall.”

These passive drones can be used for projects like air quality monitoring.

“There is an initiative to make small flyers, and at very small scales, simpler is better,” Ristroph said. “When you think about paper airplanes, it doesn’t get much simpler than that. I’m not an engineer who can make a useful flying robot, but I hope our findings will inspire others who can.”

“Studying toys is serious fun. Whether it’s a paper airplane or a spinning top, there is something scientifically valuable in finding out how they work.”

Experiments with aerodynamics at home

Ristroph’s research includes a component dedicated to training STEM students in aspects of modern applied mathematics, emphasizing the connections among modeling, simulation and experimental observation.

And his experiments are simple enough that they can be conducted anywhere. “I like to think of the whole world as a laboratory. There are simple experiments in front of you. The things you see around you are fascinating if you look at them in the right way,” he said.

Want to replicate the experiment at home? The basic materials are a notepad or copy paper about 6 inches long and 2 inches wide that can be folded and tape or paper clips that can be used to add weight.

“Studying toys is serious fun,” Ristroph said. “Whether it’s a paper airplane or a spinning top, there is something scientifically valuable in finding out how they work.”  

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General Aviation News

Because flying is cool

For latest research on aerodynamics, scientists turn to paper airplanes

By General Aviation News Staff · October 3, 2022 ·

A series of experiments using paper airplanes reveals new aerodynamic effects, according to researchers at New York University.

They say their findings “enhance our understanding of flight stability” and could inspire new types of flying vehicles.

“The study started with simple curiosity about what makes a good paper airplane and specifically what is needed for smooth gliding,” explains Leif Ristroph, an associate professor at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and an author of the study, which appears in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

“Answering such basic questions ended up being far from child’s play. We discovered that the aerodynamics of how paper airplanes keep level flight is really very different from the stability of conventional airplanes.”

“Birds glide and soar in an effortless way, and paper airplanes, when tuned properly, can also glide for long distances,” adds author Jane Wang, a professor of engineering and physics at Cornell University. “Surprisingly, there has been no good mathematical model for predicting this seemingly simple but subtle gliding flight.”

Since we can make complicated modern airplanes fly, the researchers say, one might think we know all there is to know about the simplest flying machines.

“But paper airplanes, while simple to make, involve surprisingly complex aerodynamics,” notes Ristroph.

The researchers began their study by considering what is needed for a plane to glide smoothly. Since paper airplanes have no engine and rely on gravity and proper design for their movement, they are good candidates for exploring factors behind flight stability, they said.

To investigate this phenomenon, the researchers conducted lab experiments by launching paper airplanes with differing centers of mass through the air. The results, along with those from studying plates falling in a water tank, allowed the team to devise a new aerodynamic model and also a “flight simulator” capable of predicting the motions.

To find the best design, the researchers placed different amounts of thin copper tape on the front part of the paper planes, giving them varied center of mass locations. Lead weights added to the plates in water served the same purpose.

“The key criterion of a successful glider is that the center of mass must be in the ‘just right’ place,” Ristroph says. “Good paper airplanes achieve this with the front edge folded over several times or by an added paper clip, which requires a little trial and error.”

The researchers discovered that flight motions depended on finding that “just right” place.

For example, if the weight was at the center of the wing or only displaced somewhat from the middle, it underwent wild motions, such as fluttering or tumbling. If the weight was displaced too far toward one edge, then the flier quickly dove downwards and crashed. In between, however, there was a “sweet spot” for the center of mass that gave stable gliding.

The researchers coupled the experimental work with a mathematical model that served as the basis of a “flight simulator,” a computer program that successfully reproduced the different flight motions. It also helped explain why a paper airplane is stable in its glide. When the center of mass is in the “sweet spot,” the aerodynamic force on the plane’s wing pushes the wing back down if the plane moves upward and back up if it moves downward, the researchers explain.

“The location of the aerodynamic force or center of pressure varies with the angle of flight in such a way to ensure stability,” Ristroph says.

He notes that this dynamic does not occur with conventional aircraft wings, which are airfoils, structures whose shapes work to generate lift.

“The effect we found in paper airplanes does not happen for the traditional airfoils used as aircraft wings, whose center of pressure stays fixed in place across the angles that occur in flight,” Ristroph says. “The shifting of the center of pressure seems to be a unique property of thin, flat wings, and this ends up being the secret to the stable flight of paper airplanes.”

“This is why airplanes need a separate tail wing as a stabilizer while a paper plane can get away with just a main wing that gives both lift and stability,” he concludes. “We hope that our findings will be useful in small-scale flight applications, where you may want a minimal design that does not require a lot of extra flight surfaces, sensors, and controllers.”

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October 4, 2022 at 7:50 am

Interesting subject. When I was young, and could not afford any kind of flying machine, I found relief from my flying passion by building paper models. Some of them were actually aerodynamically impressive, with very shallow glides and very stable. Since I lived in a mountainous area I could let them go and at times get lucky were some would catch some lift and fly for a while. During those moments I would dream of one day flying a real aircraft. Eventually that lead to flying RC models, getting my private license and eventually a fun life engaged in different forms of aviation activities.

Thanks for reminding me of this fun aspect of my aviation career.

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In Flight With Paper Airplanes

An exploration with elementary engineering

Science and Children—February 2020 (Volume 57, Issue 6)

By Laura Katchmark, Elisabeth McCabe, Kristen Matthews, and Michele Koomen

Share Start a Discussion

What better way to engage fifth-grade students in science and engineering practices than to use paper airplanes to encourage them to question, explore, create, and test designs! This multi-day unit draws from a fourth-grade curriculum (Pearson 2012) aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards ( NGSS Lead States 2013 ) used in teacher education methods classes and taught to grade 5 students. In this article, we share an integrated unit that includes reading selections about Amelia Earhart and the forces involved in paper airplane flight, an overview of how we used paper airplanes in an experimental design process, and how we helped students develop conclusions based on the claims, evidence, and reasoning framework (CER; McNeill and Krajcik 2012 ).

Introduction

Our 45-minute introduction lesson is designed to acquaint students with the principles of engineering, gravity, and the design process. We started by asking students what they know about paper airplanes and flight, using a Know, Wonder, Learn (KWL) chart. Some student notes revealed they knew that airplanes were made from a sheet of paper, needed wings to fly, needed someone to throw them, and can travel far. They wondered about gravity, how to prevent a paper airplane from making loops, and airplane size and weight.

Next, we asked students to think about the work of an engineer (e.g., What does an engineer do?). We discussed how an engineer might design, develop, and test new products. Any product, like smartphones, computers, washing machines, and even classroom furniture, had to be engineered and tested. To understand how much of our world is “engineered” and to incorporate movement, we took a “silent” engineering walk through the school to look for engineered items. Students recorded examples they observed on a sticky note that later we transferred to a class list ( Figure 1 ). Once we regathered everyone, we focused our discussion on how each example was part of an engineering process of trial, test, and redesign.

Next, we told students that we would explore the design process of engineering by making paper airplanes. We used a shared reading to develop concepts about the forces that would be involved in the flight of a paper airplane (see Supplemental Resources). Before we started the reading, we had students work with a partner on a word sort, a vocabulary strategy that allow students to develop relationships among words and reasoning skills of classification and deduction ( Zygouris-Coe 2015 ). Partners sorted the words into groups related to parts of the airplane ( Figure 2 ). As the shared reading proceeded, we stopped to discuss some of the key concepts (lift, drag, gravity, and thrust) and uncover the meaning of words unfamiliar to students. We emphasized how paper airplanes fly down as a result of gravity.

Conducting the Mini-Investigation

Students really looked forward to the day that we would begin the actual scientific and engineering study ( Pauley, Weege, and Koomen et al. 2016 )! We started this 45-minute lesson with an overview of the main goals of the unit: to make and test a control paper airplane, to make another paper airplane with one change (a testable variable), and see how that flight compared to the control. In this lesson, we introduced the students to the mini-investigation sheet that they would eventually complete (see Supplemental Resources).

We modeled how to make a basic dart airplane and talked about safety and handling of the paper airplanes. We outlined behavioral expectations and classroom management techniques, including how to throw the airplanes safely in the air and not at each other, the importance of throwing paper airplanes one at a time, and using safety googles during the flight. In our class, students worked together in small groups (of three or four students) where each group made one paper airplane; however, individual students could each make one and then as a group choose the one that they thought might perform better. We spent some time talking with students about how this first paper airplane would be their control and how they would measure the distance travelled over three trials. A control is important in science and engineering investigations because it offers the investigator the opportunity to compare across variables. We found it was very important to give students time to “pilot” throwing their airplane in a consistent manner. By doing this, we were able to have the students actually model what worked and what didn’t versus us just telling them. For example, some student groups figured out and then demonstrated to the class how to get the most accurate measurement by laying metersticks end to end or throwing the plane with the arm and plane at a right angle to the floor. We instructed the students on how to make a data table on the back sheet of the mini-investigation ( Figure 3 ) and to collect both qualitative data (observations of flight behavior) and quantitative data (measurement of distance travelled) that we used as formative assessment. We concluded this part of the unit by having students jot down a few notes again on that first page of the mini-investigation sheet about how they might modify and improve their plane’s design to increase the distance travelled.

The Design Process

We began the design process lesson (45-minutes) by having the fifth-grade students refer to their mini-investigation sheets to talk together in their groups about some of the modifications and improvements that they might make to increase the distance traveled of the paper airplane. Adding rudders; using different lengths, sizes, or weight of paper (office paper, cardstock, cardboard, or wax paper); or adding weight using paper clips or clay are some of the variable design modifications students have tested. After the students talked for a bit in their groups, we found it helpful to pull the students together as a whole group to share some of the ideas that were emerging about a possible design change using prompts such as: What worked well with the first model? What didn’t? What changes can be made to yield different results or Why do you think a particular change will produce those results?

After the group discussion, the students continued working on their mini-investigation sheets within their small groups to craft a research question, form hypotheses, and lay out their plan. Students used the question frame ( How does _____ affect ____?) to develop their research question. For example, Molly’s group question was “How does material affect distance?” We taught the students to identify multiple hypotheses or the possible outcomes of their investigation ( Pauley, Weege, and Koomen 2016 ). We talked about how important it is to identify a null hypothesis or the possibility that there will be no effect between the variables. In Molly’s group, there are three possible outcomes:

H 1 : The control will travel the farthest.

H 2 : The cardboard plane will travel the farthest.

H O : The material will not affect distance.

Once the groups decided on their one design modification to test, they completed the mini-investigation sheet, with an eye to being consistent with the first set of trials with the control (i.e., same position for the launch and same person). We wrapped up this part of the unit by asking each group to share the variable they decided to test, which also served as a formative assessment.

Design Modifications and Testing

The next sequence of this unit allowed students time to construct their group’s modified airplane within a 45-minute lesson. We found it helpful for students to first review their mini investigation sheet and to keep in mind that they were testing the independent variable (the design modification that they will be comparing to the control). Next, each group constructed the new plane with its variable modification. The students tested their new design by running three trials as they did earlier in the unit, collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. We found that students need ample time to work and inquire to ensure accurate and comparable results. At the end of this part of the unit, student groups should have completed all three trials.

Working with paper airplanes sounds unthreatening; however, there are some things to take into account when teaching this unit.

Students should wear safety goggles when they are testing the airplanes in flight.

Use adequate spaces to encourage safety for all students (i.e., hallways, extra rooms, classroom).

Outline expectations for throwing airplanes (i.e., one person in the group throws one plane at a time down the runway; paper airplanes are not thrown at or over people).

Analysis and Conclusion

The final leg of this unit is where the students compare the experimental data against the control data, focusing on the analyze/interpret and conclude/report sections of the mini investigation sheet. To do this, students need to review the data tables from each of the two tests. As they review their data, we guide them with questions such as: “What do you notice about your two sets of data? How are they similar? How are they different? What patterns do you see?” (see Supplemental Resources). Students write down the answers to these questions in the analyze and interpret section of their planning sheet. For example, Jorge and his group noticed a pattern in distance traveled when using different-size paper for their planes: “The size of the paper can affect the distance it travels.”

Next, the students identify the claim that was supported by their evidence and circle it on their mini-investigations sheet. To communicate their conclusion, we use the claims, evidence, and reasoning (CER) sentence frames modified by Julie Jackson and colleagues (2016) based on the research of McNeill and Krajcik (2012) .

I claim ________ (claim: what the student knows/answers to a question or solution to a problem) because ___________ (evidence or data that support one of your hypotheses). I know I am right because ______ (reasoning: scientific concept, rule, or principle) ( Jackson, et al. 2016 , p. 65).

CER can be a little complicated for fifth graders, so we model how to use the frames. For example, Ellery and her fifth-grade group, wrote “I claim that my re-designed paper airplane is faster than my control because after three trials it went farther than my control by an average of 37 cm (supporting hypothesis 2). I know I am right because my re-designed paper airplane weighed less than my control which had less of a pull of gravity” (see NSTA Connection ).

Ellery tied the outcome of her group’s investigation to one of the key disciplinary core ideas of the unit: gravity. These written conclusions became part of our summative assessment using our rubric (see Supplemental Resources). To conclude, we returned to the KWL chart and asked students to reflect on what they had learned through the activities about paper airplanes and what makes them fly. The various colors of the sticky notes represent each stage of the KWL process.

Amelia Earhart

Engineering is a field with one of the worst gender gaps in all of the sciences ( Kanny, Sax, and Riggers-Piehl 2014 ). This unit creates an opportunity to address this disparity by highlighting the work of the pioneer aviator and champion of women’s rights: Amelia Earhart. Amelia Earhart was an American aviator who was the first woman to solo fly a plane across the Atlantic Ocean. She broke many records for airplane travel during her lifetime. Amelia disappeared in the South Pacific Ocean in July 1937 while trying to fly her plane named Electra around the world with her navigator Fred Noonan. She was declared dead on January 5, 1939.

We include a supplemental reading about Amelia Earhart that provides an overview of her accomplishments. To foster vocabulary development, we recommend using a word sort or the Five Most Important Words strategy ( Zygouris-Coe 2015 ). This strategy promotes deep understanding of words within a text and their context. First, students write down five words in a graphic organizer. Next, they use their own words to define the five selected words. Finally, they explain why the word is important in the reading selection. This strategy invites a student to explain what the words mean and why they are important for his or her understanding.

Reflections on Unit Taught

Drag and Gravity. As a paper airplane moves through the air, it pushes against the air, creating resistance or drag . If you want a paper airplane to fly far, you need to design a paper airplane with as little drag as possible. When we throw paper airplanes, they do not keep flying continuously. Instead, they fall down to the ground because of the force of gravity. Gravity is an invisible force that pulls objects to the center of our planet Earth. Objects with greater mass (like Earth) pull more than objects with less mass (paper airplanes). Keeping the paper airplane’s weight to a minimum will help fight against the pull of gravity.

Thrust and Lift. In this unit, student pilots use their muscles to thrust (forward movement) the paper airplane forward. Lift occurs as a result of the air below the paper airplane wing pushing up more than the air above the wing of the airplane is pushing down. The difference in pressure is actually what makes the paper airplane fly. The forces of thrust and lift help the paper airplane make a longer flight.

When the four forces are balanced they achieve a longer flight. Planes like the basic dart are designed to be thrown with a lot of force so they overcome gravity since they do not usually have a lot of drag or lift.

Versatility and adaptability are strengths of this unit. For example, when Laura was teaching this unit, she had only 25-minute segments to fit in a unit that was designed to span five 45-minute lessons. To maximize class time, she pre-folded the paper airplanes and measured the area of the room set aside for conducting the data collection. Additionally, we found it valuable to have students communicate their findings and conclusions with other groups at the end of the unit. We did this using the jigsaw approach, where students come together in groups, with each group member representing a different primary investigative group. In this way, students are informally modeling sharing of results using their mini-investigation sheets, similar to what scientists do when they share their findings at a conference. For example, Ellery (above) talked about what she learned by redesigning her paper airplane and the role of weight on gravity.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful for the review of the physics content of the manuscript by Professor Chuck Niederriter at Gustavus Adolphus College. This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (DR K-12-1417777). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or endorsement of the funding agency.

INTERNET RESOURCES

Basic dart  http://www.foldnfly.com/1.html#Basic-Dart

What is gravity?  https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/what-is-gravity/en/

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

Amelia Earhart background info

Further reading about Amelia Earhart

Further reading about paper airplanes

Five Most Important Words

Science and Engineering Practice

Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

Classroom Connection:   Students design and construct an investigation that tests a modified design feature using paper airplanes.

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Classroom Connection:   Students analyze and interpret data from two different test trials of the paper airplane.

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Classroom Connection:   Students explain in writing their conclusion using the CER sentence frames.

Disciplinary Core Idea

PS2.B: Types of Interactions The gravitational force of Earth acting on an object near Earth’s surface pulls that object toward the planet’s center.

Classroom Connection: Students use evidence from their paper airplane investigation to support their argument that the gravitational force exerted by the Earth on objects is down.

Crosscutting Concept

Classroom Connection: Students identify patterns in their data to support their claims and explanations regarding the best design solution.

Performance Expectation

• The materials, lessons, and activities outlined in the article are just one step toward reaching the performance expectation listed below.

5-PS2-1 . Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down.

Jackson J., Durham A., Dowell S., Sockel J., and Boynton I.. 2016. Claims and evidence. Science and Children 54 (4): 64–69.

Kanny M.A., Sax L.J., and Riggers-Piehl T.A.. 2014. Investigating forty years of STEM research: How explanations for the gender gap have evolved over time. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 20 (2): 127–148.

McNeill K.L., and Krajcik J.. 2012. Supporting grade 5–8 students in constructing explanations in science: The claim, evidence and reasoning framework for talk and writing . Boston, MA: Pearson.

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next generation science standards: For states, by states . Washington, DC: National Academies Press

Pauley L., Weege K., and Koomen M. 2016. Native Plants and Seeds, Oh My! Science and Children 53 (9): 32–38.

Zygouris-Coe V.I. 2015. Teaching discipline-specific literacies in grades 6–12: Preparing students for college, career, and workforce demands . New York: Routledge.

Aerospace NGSS Three-Dimensional Learning Elementary

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Paper Airplanes

Learn about the science of flight and then experiment with your own paper airplane models.

Four forces act on an airplane: weight, lift, thrust and drag.

Try these paper airplanes and share creations with #AFRLPaperAirplane on social media.

Right click an image below and select “Save image as” to download and print.

FREE K-12 standards-aligned STEM

curriculum for educators everywhere!

Find more at TeachEngineering.org .

• TeachEngineering
• Paper Airplanes: Building, Testing, & Improving. Heads Up!

Hands-on Activity Paper Airplanes: Building, Testing, & Improving. Heads Up!

Grade Level: 6 (5-7)

Time Required: 45 minutes

Expendable Cost/Group: US $1.00

Group Size: 1

Activity Dependency: None

Subject Areas: Physical Science

NGSS Performance Expectations:

Curriculum in this Unit Units serve as guides to a particular content or subject area. Nested under units are lessons (in purple) and hands-on activities (in blue). Note that not all lessons and activities will exist under a unit, and instead may exist as "standalone" curriculum.

• Fun with Bernoulli
• Air Pressure
• Windy Tunnel
• Bend That Bar
• Physics Tug of War
• Equal & Opposite Thrust in Aircraft: You’re a Pushover!
• What a Drag!
• Better By Design
• Let's Get It There Fast
• Balsa Glider Competition
• Design a Flying Machine

TE Newsletter

Engineering connection, learning objectives, materials list, worksheets and attachments, more curriculum like this, introduction/motivation, troubleshooting tips, activity extensions, activity scaling, additional multimedia support, user comments & tips.

Engineers often create small-size models of a new product to test its design. This is especially true with airplanes. Model testing tells engineers how a design responds to different air conditions and aircraft shapes, and lets them experiment with the control surfaces that are used to steer the aircraft. Using small models guides engineers to discard prototypes that do not work, which is a smarter option than than throwing away full-size (large and expensive to build) aircraft that do not work.

After this activity, students should be able to:

• Create a paper model of an airplane to use in experiments.
• Use their observations of paper airplane flight to explain flight.
• Find the average distance of flight trials.
• Explain how engineers often create small-size models of new products to test designs.

Educational Standards Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards. All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN) , a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org). In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g. , by state; within source by type; e.g. , science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc .

Ngss: next generation science standards - science, common core state standards - math.

View aligned curriculum

Do you agree with this alignment? Thanks for your feedback!

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association - Technology

State standards, colorado - math, colorado - science.

Each student needs:

• 1 of the 4 paper airplane designs in the  Plane Patterns Handout and its associated  Plane Design Instructions ; vary designs among students
• Flight Distances Worksheet
• 1-2 sheets of 8.5 x 11" copy paper

For the class to share:

• tape measure and/or meter sticks, and/or use cones to mark every five feet
• stopwatch, or a watch with a second hand
• completed examples of each of the 4 paper airplane designs
• overhead projector to show the Plane Overhead Transparency  and Distance/Time Table .
• (optional) calculators

Paper airplanes are gliders. They have a main body, and generally two wings. Some are more complex, with tails, rudders and flaps. The wings compress the air below the paper airplane, creating high pressure, and thus the airplane is able to "sit" and glide on the air. Moving the rudders, ailerons, or flaps up or down can change the flight path of an airplane. For example, folding down the wing flaps can result in a nosedive and folding up the flaps can point the airplane in an upward direction. (Show the class an overhead transparency of the Blank Plane Diagram  and have students come up to the board and identify/label the various parts. See Figure 1 for the answers. For younger students, you may want to list the parts nearby from which they can choose.) 

Engineers start with designing and testing several different models of an airplane before they get the approval to build a real one. They typically must work under specific constraints or limits, including the purpose of the airplane. By testing different models of planes, engineers can determine which one is best for distance, speed and other factors.

Today, we are going to learn how to design some simple gliders and airplanes using paper. The class is going to design and build a few different models and determine which paper airplane is the best for distance.

Before the Activity

• Gather materials and make copies of the Flight Distances Worksheet .
• Make enough copies of the four different types of paper airplanes in the Plane Patterns Handout , and their instructions in the  Plane Design Instructions , one design per student.
• Make a few models of the four airplane designs to get a feel for how to make them and how they fly.
• Prepare an indoor (hallway, gym) or outdoor plane testing area—an unobstructed area to throw the planes and measure flight time and distances.
• Become familiar with the activity vocabulary. List new terms, such as "aileron" and "rudder," on a chart or the classroom board.
• Prepare overhead transparencies to show the class: Blank Plane Diagram  and Distance/Time Table .

With the Students

• Conduct the pre-activity assessment brainstorming, as described in the Assessment section.
• Present the Introduction/Motivation content to the class.
• Demonstrate one or two paper airplanes. Discuss and list on the board the airplane parts they may know about, and add any terms they do not know, such as "elevator" and "rudder."
• Then list factors they may know about that would affect flight (for example, plane shape, wing shape, weight, weight at the nose, tails, flaps, rudders, etc.).
• Explain that they will get to try several designs and see how they work. Hand out a variety of plane designs and their instructions, so each table/general area has an assortment. Give students time to work on the airplanes.
• Inform students on the method to measure flight distance and flight time, such as the following:
• Set out cones every five feet and have students estimate their flight distance based on the cones.
• Have students individually measure their flight distances using tape measures or meter sticks.
• Have students use a stopwatch to time how long their planes stay in the air.
• In the plane-testing area, have students test and gather data by performing three test flights with their first plane designs. Direct students to record all three flight distances on their worksheets.
• Hand out blank paper, and let students design and test a second airplane. Inform students that this second design should be their own, original design and entirely different from the first plane design that was provided to them.
• Have students test their second designs, again recording the distances and times.
• Have students compute on their worksheets the average flight times and distances for both plane designs.
• To conclude the activity, lead a class discussion. Make an effort to use the new airplane parts terminology. Question prompts:
• What did you learn?
• What changes did you make in your second airplane design and how did those changes affect the flight distance?
• Who's plane went farther than five feet? Farther than 10 feet? The farthest of all?
• Did certain designs go farther than others? Why?
• What were your flight times? What was the longest flight time?
• Did certain designs stay aloft longer than others? Why?
• Did you notice a relationship between average distance and average time? (Expect a weak relationship between time and distance since it is possible for a plane to fly straight up for a while but only travel a few feet forward.)
• To analyze the class data, first take a poll of the class to compile data counts to complete the Distance/Time Table  as an overhead transparency. Direct students to use the larger of their two averages from design 1 or design 2.  
• Using the class data, have students individually make bar graphs with number of students on the x-axis and distance on the y-axis. Which distance has the largest number of paper gliders that went that far?
• If time permits, as a class, determine who has the longest time average.

Pre-Activity Assessment

Brainstorming:  Before starting the activity, have students generate a number of possible ideas about the activity topic. Encourage wild ideas and discourage criticism of any ideas. Ask:

• What are all the different ways you can design a paper airplane?

Activity Embedded Assessment

Worksheet: Have students record on the  Flight Distances Worksheet  their flight distances and times for both plane designs. Review their data to assess their engagement and comprehension of the experimental testing process.

Post-Activity Assessment

Class Discussion: Ask students to list factors that they noticed affected their airplane model test flights. Record their answers on the board. Ask how they would change their designs if they had more time to work on them. Have them list some of the variables that affect flight (such as the weight of the plane's parts, wing shape, wing length, rudders, ailerons, plane length, etc.)

Pass the Buck:  In groups of four, have students brainstorm ideas to design the perfect paper airplane. First, assign one student in the group to be the recorder. Then have someone toss out an idea. Next, another person in the group provides an idea that builds on the first. Go around the group in this fashion until all students have put in enough ideas to put together a design. When they are done, have them share their ideas with the class.

Safety Issues

Provide a clear path for the airplanes to be thrown so that people are not be in the path of the paper airplanes.

Clarify to students when and where to fly the airplanes. Ideally, conduct the activity in a hallway, gym or outdoors. You may want to show them how to fold some of the trickier paper airplanes as a group before you let them try on their own.

If some students have dificulty folding the paper airplanes, ask other students who have mastered the process to help them.

Expect that some students already have experience with paper airplanes. Let them know that they will get a chance to demonstrate their favorite airplane design in a later lesson, but the purpose of this activity is to get some basic folding shapes down for the entire class. Or, ask them to do one of the provided patterns for their first trials and their own designs for the second trial. Then, have the students explain what changes were made to improve the plane for the second trial.

For extra math practice, have students create a line or bar graph of their individual plane trials.

Have students complete other challenges with their paper airplanes. Set up a mock landing pad, a target or a hoop to measure plane flight accuracy.

Check out kits for very cool paper airplanes; see https://www.amazon.com/Supercool-Paper-Airplanes-Kit-Instruction/dp/0804845727 .

• For younger students, keep it simple by limiting the designs to one paper airplane prototype design. And, it may be easier if you do not introduce the concept of control surfaces such as rudders and elevators. Also, complete the bar graph as a class or in small groups.
• For older students, encourage more complex models and manipulate them more. Encourage students to come up with their own unique paper airplane designs (even for the first plane design), and have them explain their designs to the class in terms of what they changed to improve flight.

A helpful NASA diagram shows the basic ariplane parts and their functions; see https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/airplane-parts-function/ .

Students are introduced to the art of designing airplanes through paper airplane constructions. The goal is for students to learn important aircraft design considerations and how engineers must iterate their designs to achieve success.

Students learn about airplane control surfaces on tails and wings, and engineering testing wherein one variable is changed while others are held constant. Through the associated activity, they compare the performance of a single paper airplane design while changing its shape, size and flap positions...

Students act as if they are engineers designing gliders, aiming to improve the flight distance and time in the air. This activity brings together students' knowledge of engineering and airplanes, applying what they have previously learned about lift, weight, thrust and drag to glider models, as well...

Students learn about kites and gliders and how these models can help in understanding the concept of flight. Then students move on to conduct the associated activity, during which teams design and build their own balsa wood glider models and experiment with different control surfaces, competing for ...

Paper Aircraft Association. Accessed 2004. http://www.topphotograph.dsl.pipex.com/paamain/index.html

Contributors

Supporting program, acknowledgements.

The contents of this digital library curriculum were developed under grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation (GK-12 grant no. 0338326). However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Education or National Science Foundation, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government.

Last modified: April 19, 2023

Early Science Matters

Laying the foundation for a lifetime of discovery.

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Paper Airplanes

In this lesson, children will plan, create and test paper airplanes using an engineering-design inquiry process

Content Area:

Engineering

Learning Goals:

This lesson will help toddlers and preschoolers meet the following educational standards :

• Develop beginning skills in the use of science and engineering practices, such as observing, asking questions, solving problems and drawing conclusions

Learning Targets:

After this lesson, toddlers and preschoolers should be more proficient at:

• Expressing wonder and curiosity about their world by asking questions and solving problems
• Developing and using models to represent their ideas, observations and explanations through activities such as drawing or building
• Carrying out simple investigations
• Using mathematical and computational thinking
• Generating explanations and communicating ideas and/or conclusions about their investigations

Lesson plan for toddlers/preschoolers

Step 1: gather materials..

• Masking tape
• Chart paper (optional)

Note : Small parts pose a choking hazard and are not appropriate for children age five or under. Be sure to choose lesson materials that meet safety requirements.

Step 2: Introduce activity.

• Assemble the children in a large group and  introduce the idea of making airplanes. What materials in the classroom might we use?
• After this discussion,  share and pass around a pre-folded paper airplane. Do not show the children how you made the airplane, as they will be using their own ideas to create original designs.
• Ask  the children if they have any ideas about making a paper airplane or how far it might travel.

Step 3: Engage children in lesson activities.

• Separate the children into small groups and hand out paper and pencils, so that they can design their own ideas of what their paper airplane might look like.
• After the drawings are completed, invite the children to share their designs and tell the group how they will create their airplanes.
• Next, give the children paper so that they can create paper airplanes based on their design plans.
• After the children have made their airplanes, invite them to predict how far their own airplane, and their classmates’ planes, will travel. As an option, consider documenting these ideas and flying lengths in a chart.
• Have children test their designs. Put a piece of masking tape on the floor to mark where the children will launch their airplanes. Ask the children to “fly” their airplanes to see how far they will travel. Use another piece of masking tape to show how far each airplane travels.
• After all of the airplanes have flown, invite the children to share their reflections on the activity. What airplanes flew the farthest? What design elements made the planes fly better? What would you do differently if you made another airplane?

Step 4: Vocabulary.

• Design : To create a plan for something that will be built
• Predict : To guess what might happen
• Plan : To decide how to carry out an experiment or conduct an engineering project
• Test :  To try out an idea to see if it works or not

Step 5: Adapt lesson for toddlers or preschoolers.

Adapt lesson for toddlers, toddlers may:.

• Not yet have developed the fine-motor skills they need to accurately fold airplanes
• Not yet engage in lengthy discussions
• Be interested in trying to fly paper airplanes and describing these actions using simple sentences

Child care providers may:

• Have pre-folded airplanes ready for the children to try out and omit the drawing and planning part of the activity
• Explore how these paper airplanes fly through extended, open-ended play over the course of several days
• Use self-talk and parallel talk to describe the process of throwing and flying a paper airplane

Adapt Lesson for Preschoolers

Preschoolers may:.

• Be interested in exploring paper airplanes independently during an open-ended choice time
• Use precise language to compare and contrast airplane designs
• Use measurement tools to find out how far their airplanes flew
• Offer materials to make paper airplanes throughout the day
• Guide children in collecting data about the distance that the airplanes flew
• Guide children in displaying and analyzing this data
• Offer measurement tools for children to use to examine how far the airplanes flew

Suggested Books

• Planes Fly! by George Ella Lyon
• The Boy and the Airplane by Mark Pett
• Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

Music and Movement

• Create a paper airplane obstacle course and ask the children to fly their airplanes to different parts of the classroom or gross-motor space—going through, above or below obstacles
• Sing “The Airplane Song” by The Laurie Berkner Band  

Outdoor Connections

• Fly the paper airplanes outside on a windy day and discuss how the wind changes the planes’ flight paths.
• Go on a “What Flies?” neighborhood walk to look for things that fly.

Web Resources

• How to make a paper airplane
• Teach your child to make paper airplanes

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