Paper Airplane Experiment
Kids love doing science instead of just reading about it. The PAPER AIRPLANE EXPERIMENT is perfectly paired with the study of the scientific method or even the history of flight! This experiment is inexpensive, accessible, and doesn’t make a mess!
Paper airplanes are always a hit around my house! So, when creating an experiment for us to conduct that would allow the boys to practice the scientific method, this was a no-brainer! Our posing question was:
- Does the type of paper you use for a paper airplane change how far it will fly?
Don’t you appreciate an easy materials list! I do. All you will need is:
- Construction Paper
- Notebook Paper
- Computer Paper
- Card Stock
- Printed out Lab Sheet
Paper Airplane Experiment Lab Sheets
The Paper Airplane Experiment Lab Sheets will guide you and your student through this fun hands-on scientific investigation. Walk through the experiment step-by-step using the 3-page student lab sheets. I didn’t forget about you teaching mommas (and dads), the teacher’s cheat sheet is also included in the download. DOWNLOAD HERE.
After collecting our materials and cutting our different types of paper to the right size, the boys made their airplanes. Now, one of my sons wanted to use his own design while another wanted me to print out the Classic Dart design. Our favorite paper airplane book of all time is Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes Craft kit.
Once we had the airplanes ready to go, we sat, talked, and the boys answered the questions on their lab sheet. Each of them formed his hypothesis and as a group we discussed the variables in the experiment. If your student needs a review of variables, watch The Scientific Method slideshow.
EXPERIMENT TIME!!! This is the fun part! It was a beautiful spring day. The only issue we ran into was a little wind. One of our airplanes flew backwards! All in the name of science! There are ten trials in this experiment, so your student will be flying his or her airplanes 10 times each and after each trial, record their data.
After testing hypotheses, the boys shared their data and findings with each other. We all sat and discussed their results. I led them through a discussion about manipulated variables and if they could think of ways to improve the design of the experiment. In the end, we all had fun and I think they learned something too, which is always nice at the end of a school day. Happy learning!
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