Paper Airplane Educational Resources

 

I started giving paper airplane presentations as a way to teach kids (and adults) about the basics of flight, and I believe it has worked well. I think education should be hands-on and fun, and paper airplanes accomplish both. What I didn't expect were the other lessons learned from paper airplanes. The process of following directions teaches an important skill in itself, and rewards patience and persistence. Paper airplanes also provides a launching point for other topics of science (fluids, flight in nature, physics, ...), history of flight, flight physiology, ...

 Naturally I recommend both of my books:
The World Record Paper Airplane Book - Best for ages 10 & up, and includes:
- Basics of flight
- How to make and throw paper airplanes
- Flying activities indoors and outside, including the basics of soaring flight
- How to organize and run a contest (a contest is a great way to reinforce the lessons of how to make and fly paper airplanes).

 Kids' Paper Airplane Book - Best for ages 6-12, and Includes:
- Basics of flight
- How to make and throw paper airplanes
- A guide for how to recognize real airplanes at the airport or as they fly over
- Flying activities and games indoors and outside
- Paper airplane contests (a contest is a great way to reinforce the lessons of how to make and fly paper airplanes).
- How to make a paper airplane perform stunts (loops, circles)

*** A TEACHERS GUIDE IS AVAILABLE FOR THE KIDS' PAPER AIRPLANE BOOK ***

A preview (table of contents/intro letter from ME) is HERE.
The entire teachers guide in PDF format is HERE (requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Experiments and Activities:

Here are a few computer files with information on specific paper airplane experiments and information.  The first three I presented at the National Congress for Aerospace Education in Atlanta in 2004.  I will try to add to this list of experiments as time permits.

Overview of aerodynamics and the Guinness record (PowerPoint file)

Paper Airplane Experiments (PowerPoint file)

Careers in Aerospace Engineering (PowerPoint file)

Wing span vs. flight distance (Microsoft Word file)
 

I also have some paper airplane experiment information in my section with answers to questions

Links to educational websites

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