Tech Museum of Innovation
Hoop Glider Design Challenge
The fourth installment of a five-part unit has young engineers designing and testing hoop gliders. They adjust the ratio of the front loop and back loop of the glider to determine the best design for the longest flight.
Teach Engineering
Better By Design
Which modification is the best? Using the scientific method, pairs determine the effects of each control surface on the distance of a glider's flight. The activity, section 16 in a 22-part unit on aviation, allows pupils to gain a better...
Teach Engineering
Balsa Glider Competition
Change one variable and try again. Teams build basic balsa gliders and collect data on their flight distances and times. Through collaboration, the team decides on two modifications to make to the basic design and collect data for the...
Teach Engineering
Building-Testing-Improving Paper Airplanes: Head's Up!
Take foldables to all new heights. Pupils build and fly different types of paper airplanes in the 14th portion of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups collect data on distance and flight time for each plane and compare the data from the...
Curated OER
Force and Gliders
Students explore physics by creating data graphs in class. In this flight properties instructional activity, students read the book Flying Machine and identify the force, resistance and construction necessary to keep a glider in the air....
Curated OER
Banana Man Glider
Students incorporate technology into the classroom as they investigate force and motion. In this science lesson, students construct a glider to be able to safely take a banana to the ground without dropping it. They investigate flight,...
Curated OER
Building Tetrahedral Kites
Students work together to build tetrahedral kites. They must follow directions and the provided materials. They discover the engineering concepts needed to make the kite.
Curated OER
Displacement Problem Set
Young scholars calculate the length of a side of a triangle using a trigonometric function. They calculate the measure of an angle given two sides of a triangle with a trigonometric function.