Audience
Educators
Grade Levels
Grades K-4, Grades 5-8, Informal Education
Subject
Physical Science, Flight and Aeronautics, Forces and Motion
Type
Lesson Plans / Activities
Students construct small paper airplanes and launch them by blowing air through a drinking straw. Students then examine how the four forces of flight and Newton’s Third Law of Motion affect the plane.
3 … 2 … 1 … Takeoff! (Simple for Grades K-5)
3 … 2 … 1 … Takeoff! (Simple for Grades K-5 Spanish Version)
3 … 2 … 1 … Takeoff! (Complex for Grades 5-8)
3 … 2 … 1 … Takeoff! (Complex for Grades 5-8 Spanish Version)
Instructional Video
Supporting Videos
X-59: How Sound Travels
X-59: Sonic Booms Explained
A History of NASA’s X-Planes
This Next Gen STEM activity is part of the “Aeronaut-X” lessons. Other activities in this series:
Fan-tastic Forces
Senses of Sound
Shape Your Flight
Sound Effects
X-Plane Glider Design Challenge
Lower the Boom Citizen Science Guide