SUMMARY: Fantastic Fliers guides children through the basics of flight and aerodynamics. Children use different wind-makers to explore the four forces that affect flight: lift, thrust, gravity, and drag. They make and test various plane designs to see these forces in action. Children fold and fly the Delta Dart plane. Shooting the Stunt Flier plane straight up makes it loop back! They make a Rotor Kite twist and an Paper Dirigible twirl. A fast-flying, spinning cylinder is launched at a tough target. Children build the Sky Hawk Foam Plane Take-Home and fling it forward.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE: Fantastic Fliers provides children with a combination of practical experiences and theoretical knowledge in aerodynamics. They learn that lift, thrust, gravity, and drag affect an aircraft’s flight. Children handle fans to create fast-flowing air. They construct various paper airplanes to observe how air makes them move. They build typical paper planes, closed-wing planes, and other designs for the children to fold, fling, and drop. Adjusting the Stunt Flier’s control surfaces allows children to send the planes flying in different directions. Children make, test, and take home a rubber band powered plane that cuts through air with ease.
NOTE: Mad Science Programs are fun explorations into science and technology, and they encourage informal learning through hands-on experience. All Mad Science workshops include a lot of fascinating equipment, supplies, and take-home materials which the children build themselves. The Mad Science mission is to spark the imagination and curiosity of children everywhere by providing them with fun, entertaining, and educational activities which instill a clear understanding of what science really is, and how it affects the world around them.
