Build a Paper Drone

Elementary School (Basics)

9. Build a Paper Drone

Hands-On Flight: Make Your Own Flying Machine!

Have you ever wanted to build your very own flying machine? While real drones have lots of wires and motors, we can learn about how they fly by building something much simpler: a paper drone! It won't have a camera or a controller, but it will help us understand the science of flying, called aerodynamics.

Aerodynamics is a big word that just means how air moves around things that fly. When we build a paper drone, we'll see how its shape helps it glide through the air, just like the clever shapes of real planes and drones help them fly.

There are many ways to make a paper drone or paper airplane. Some look like sleek jets, others might look like little helicopters that spin down. The most important thing is to make sure it has parts that help it catch and push the air.

Here are some things you'll learn when you build one:

• Wings (or Rotors): Even a paper airplane has "wings" that push against the air to get lift. For a paper drone that spins, you might have little paper blades that act like rotors, catching the air as it falls.

• Balance: If your paper drone is too heavy on one side, it will tumble! You'll learn that a flying object needs to be balanced to fly straight and smooth.

• Design Matters: A small change in how you fold the paper – maybe a tiny flap or a different nose shape – can make a big difference in how well it flies. This teaches us that engineers and designers have to be very careful with shapes!

Building a paper drone is a super fun way to experiment and see how air helps things fly. You get to be an engineer and a pilot all at once! So grab some paper, start folding, and get ready for your paper drone's first flight!

Teacher's Corner: Hands-On Flight: Make Your Own Flying Machine!

Learning Objectives: Students will understand basic aerodynamic principles (lift, balance, shape's importance) through the hands-on activity of building a paper "drone" or paper airplane.

Engagement Ideas:

1. Paper Airplane Workshop: Provide various paper airplane folding instructions (simple dart, a "loop" plane, or a spinning paper "helicopter" that mimics a quadcopter's descent). Let students choose and build.

   • Resource Idea: Search for "spinning paper helicopter template" or "simple paper airplane designs for kids."

2. Experiment & Test: After building, have students test their creations. Discuss: "Which flew farthest?" "Which spun the most?" "Why do you think it did that?" "What happens if we fold a wing up/down?"

3. Balance Challenge: Have students try to balance their paper plane on their finger. Discuss why balance is important for steady flight.

4. "Aerodynamics" in Action: Explain in simple terms that "aerodynamics" is all about how air helps things fly. Use their paper creations as examples.

5. Design Improvements: Encourage students to iterate. "How can you make your paper drone fly even better?" This fosters engineering design thinking.

Key Takeaway Reinforcement: "Building a paper drone helps us learn that shapes and balance are super important for making things fly through the air, just like real drones!"