A Proper Propeller

Scholars build a boat using an assortment of materials such as foam plates, aluminum foil, and skewers, then test its buoyancy with pennies. Challenge boat builders to construct the strongest or fastest boat in a healthy competition with...

Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome. 

Upper elementary and middle school children become aerospace engineers as balloon rockets are tested for the weight of their payloads. They construct the rockets, test and record data, and then explain ways to increase capacity. Consider...

Students participate in an outdoor activity in which they make direct but safe observations of the Sun. Students use a solar cell and voltmeter apparatus to collect data on the amount of DC voltage produced by the solar cell during a...

Sixth graders create a simple airplane to show energy. In this energy lesson, 6th graders make an airplane from a pencil, thumb tacks, and a plastic lid. They make the propeller spin by pressing on the thumbtacks with a ball point pen. 

Students use problem solving skills to lift a load using a balloon rocket. They construct a rocket out of a balloon and use it to carry a paper clip payload.