Design for Flight

50-60 minutes

• Decide by space: gliders need open floor to launch; landers need a safe drop height like a chair or step. Split the group by path.
• Mark a launch line and a floor target for gliders; mark one set drop height for landers.
• Keep paper clips within reach for changing a glider's balance one clip at a time.

• Pre-fold one sample dart glider to show a starting point without dictating a single design.
• For landers, provide a small object to protect (ping pong ball or crumpled paper) and cushioning such as cotton balls and coffee filters.

• Gliders are thrown - launch in one direction only, never toward faces, and one team at a time.
• For landers, drop from a stable step or chair with an adult beside it. No climbing.

• Explain weight (gravity pulling down) and drag (air pushing back).
• Show how moving weight changes a glider's balance and flight path.
• Run a controlled test by changing only one thing at a time.

• Throwing the glider harder to get distance, which hides what the design change actually did.
• A nose-heavy glider that dives, or mismatched wings that make it spin.
• A lander with cushioning on the wrong side, so the object still takes the impact.

• "What one thing did you change, and what happened?"
• "Where is the weight - front, back, or center?"
• "What slowed the fall down?"
• "Can you make the lander lighter and still protect the object?"

Everyone flies the same basic dart glider first and only adds or moves one paper clip, so the change being tested is obvious.

Add a floor target for accuracy, or require a lander to protect its object from a higher drop.

• Recycle the paper gliders; keep intact landers for a second test day.
• Collect paper clips, cotton balls, and the protected objects back into their bins.