Science of Flight Activities for Kids

This month’s Tinkercrate is awesome. It is all about the science of FLIGHT. Kiwi Crate’s Tinkerzine has quickly become my sons’ (and my) favorite piece of monthly content. It is jam-packed with awesome learning goodness for children…and adults.

Ever since I brought home the Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes, my boys have been really excited about making paper airplanes. Their imaginations and ingenuity with making adjustments to their creations to “see what happens” astounds me. So, we were particularly thrilled with this month’s TinkerCrate.

Science of Flight

The Tinkerzine gives history, the science with specific and real-life examples, and awesome activities for children to try on their own in addition to the materials supplied in the TinkerCrate. After taking look at the magazine, we took a closer look at the 4 Forces of Flight – Thrust, Lift, Gravity, and Drag. {Take a look at this fun science activity on learning thrust.}

Easy Science of Flight Activity to Demonstrate Lift

Such a simple and powerful activity that we found in the Tinkerzine! The activity involves a piece of paper and a breath of air. Okay, to be fair, I used scissors, too, but you can even just tear the paper into the appropriate size (about 5 x 2). After you cut your piece of paper, curl the paper slightly using your finger or a pencil. Hold the paper up to your mouth (curling down) so you can blow air into it.

Ask your child: “What do you think might happen when you blow air into the top of the paper?”

Then blow air and observe Newton’s Third Law: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When you blow air onto the paper, the shape of the paper pushes the air downwards, which creates an equal and opposite reaction pushing the paper upwards! That is how the wings of an airplane function.

Simple and amazing!

Further Learning

• Examine what happens when you blow air onto the paper holding it in the other direction.
• Try the experiment using a balloon. Fill with air and let it go. What do you observe?
• Examine various types of planes

My sons had been asking about different types of planes. So, I created these Montessori Types of Planes Cards for reference. They are great because we get to combine science, language, history, and geography into looking at them.  Ask your child to choose one to examine more closely, or to make his own booklet of planes using the cards or his own research.

I hope you found this post helpful! Definitely check out Kiwi Crate. They offer a variety of crates perfect for your little inventor, artist, or crafter! Enjoy!

Marnie