Aviation Learning Center

Transcription

1 Aviation Learning Center P PRE AND POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 1

2 INTRODUCTION AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE Aviation Learning Center Pre-Visit Level 1 Grades 4 6 Contact alc@museumofflight.org Contact Telephone: Dear Educator, This Aviation Learning Center Pre-Visit Packet will set the stage for your exciting program in the Aviation Learning Center. The materials are targeted for use by teachers and students in Grades 4 6. Suggestions and extensions for older students are included in the activity instructions. These pre-visit activities are vital to the success of your Aviation Learning Center program and should be included as part of your preparation to visit The Museum of Flight. The activities are designed to give your students background knowledge and practice in the skills needed to accomplish their goals in the Aviation Learning Center. The activities are aligned with the Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) and were developed using Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science Literacy as well as the National Science Standards. All of the activities offer opportunities to integrate science, mathematics and other subjects into the lessons. Additionally, these activities are adaptable, multi-disciplinary, and inclusive enough to meet the needs of individual learning and teaching styles. In this way, this Pre-Visit Packet can be an important resource for your use throughout the year. The activities in this pre-visit packet are designed to introduce your students to concepts that will help them understand their Museum of Flight Aviation Learning Center (ALC) program. On the day of your visit, your class will be divided into two groups. (Within the groups, students will work in pairs throughout the entire Aviation Learning Center experience.) The two groups will rotate through three different areas of the ALC: Rajpaul Learning Laboratory, Cirrus Hangar and Flight Simulator Bay. The Rajpaul Learning Laboratory consists of up to ten different computer workstations, where students will be introduced to some of the aviation concepts they will need to master in order to become pilots. In the Cirrus Hangar, students will chart a course and complete a flight plan using aeronautical charts. They will also perform a pre-flight safety inspection of an actual Cirrus aircraft. Finally, in the Flight Simulator Bay, students will put their new skills to use when they step into our simulators and fly the routes they charted in the Hangar. We hope you and your students enjoy the activities in this Pre-Visit Packet and your program in the Aviation Learning Center. Aviation Learning Center Staff The Museum of Flight The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 2

3 INDEX AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE ACTIVITY 1: Assembling Your Teams In the Aviation Learning Center program, students work in pairs throughout the entire program. Student pairs will complete a variety of tasks, including working at one station to learn about a particular topic related to aviation. This activity will introduce your students to the different stations in the ALC, allow them to apply to work at the station that most interests them, and help you assign students to particular stations. ACTIVITY 2: Find Your Way This activity will give your students practice in reading and using a map, a skill they will need to know for their Aviation Learning Center program. The Washington State Highways map that is included with this packet will be used in this activity. PAGE 4 6 ACTIVITY 3: Plan a Trip Students put into practice the map-reading skills learned in Activity 2 by planning a trip. They will use the map to plan the journey and record the details of their trip on a Trip Plan. Students will use these same skills to plan their route of flight and fill out a Flight Plan during their Aviation Learning Center program. 9 ACTIVITY 4: Features and Limits of Design This activity will allow students to discover some of the basic ideas and processes involved in designing an airplane. Students will design, construct, and test a paper airplane design that satisfies certain criteria. 14 ACTIVITY 5: Roll with Newton s Laws of Motion In the Aviation Learning Center, students will learn about the four forces of flight the forces that act on an airplane and allow it to fly through the air. This activity is designed to get your students thinking about what a force is and how forces affect all objects in motion, including airplanes. 20 ACTIVITY 6: Airplane Control Panel This activity helps prepare your students for the flight that they will take in our Aviation Learning Center flight simulators. This activity introduces students to the basic flight instruments and gives them practice reading the instruments they will use most during their ALC flight simulator. Worksheets and Handouts EALRs Resources and References The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 3

4 ACTIVITY 1 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE Assembling Your Teams INTRODUCTION: In the Aviation Learning Center s Rajpaul Learning Laboratory, students will work in pairs at one of ten computer workstations. Each workstation is designed to cover a different topic and each student will work at only one of the stations. In this activity, students will apply for a job at the workstation to which they would most like to be assigned. Then, using their completed applications and the teacher information sheet as guides, you will assign pairs of students to each station. Materials: Learning Laboratory Workstations handouts Workstation Job Application worksheets pens or pencils Aviation Learning Center Roster teacher worksheet Assigning ALC Learning Laboratory Workstations teacher information sheet Procedure: 1. Set-up Before doing the activity with your students, make copies of the Learning Laboratory Workstations handout and the Workstation Job Application worksheet for each of your students. Read through these materials to familiarize yourself with the different ALC workstations, and make a copy of the Aviation Learning Center Roster teacher worksheet so that you can record the student assignments. You may also want to read through the Assigning ALC Learning Laboratory Workstations teacher information sheet before you assign students to the various workstations. 2. Introduce the Aviation Learning Center Begin the activity by explaining to your class that the science of aviation represents a large body of knowledge, so much so that there will not be time during their Aviation Learning Center program for students to learn all they need in order to become pilots. Tell students that on the day of their visit to The Museum of Flight, they will work in pairs to explore a particular area related to aviation. Explain that you will be assigning them to teams to work on a particular station and that you would like to take their preferences into consideration. Therefore, they will need to read descriptions of each workstation topic and decide which one sounds most interesting or exciting to them. Next, each student will complete a job application form wherein they write about why they are interested in a particular station and why they should be chosen to work there. Be sure to tell the students that while you will do your best to accommodate them, you cannot guarantee that they will get their preferred assignments, so they should list second- and third-choice stations as well. 3. Read about the Rajpaul Learning Laboratory workstations Distribute copies of the Learning Laboratory Workstations handout and have the students read them. You may want to ask individual students to read the workstation descriptions to the class, pausing after each to allow time for questions. The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 4

5 ACTIVITY 1 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE 4. Fill out the workstation application When all descriptions have been read, distribute copies of the Workstation Application worksheet. Emphasize that students should do their best to justify their choices. For example, they could note any special skills, knowledge or interests that would make them good candidates for the workstations that appeal to them. Or they could emphasize that the skills needed at a particular workstation are something they especially want to work on. 5. Assign students to workstations After all students have completed their job applications, collect and review the papers. With the help of the Assigning ALC Learning Laboratory Workstations teacher information sheet, assign students to workstations. Consider individual students requests along with your assessment of their needs, strengths and weaknesses. Ideally, in each group, two students will be assigned to each workstation; if your class has an odd number of students; it is acceptable to assign one group of one or three students to a station. Note: the pairs of students that you assign will also work together in the Cirrus Hangar and Flight Simulator Bay during their Aviation Learning Center program. 6. Fill out the Aviation Learning Center Roster Once you have finalized the workstation assignments, fill out the Aviation Learning Center Roster sheet. Make two copies to bring with you to your ALC program. Give a copy to the Museum educator at the beginning of the program and keep one for yourself. This will allow the educator to quickly divide the class into two groups. It will also allow Museum staff and you to know at all times where your students are in each area of the ALC. Be sure to make note of any absences when you give the roster to the Museum educator. Additional Information: All of the ALC Learning Laboratory workstations will be set to your students grade level. To accommodate ranges of reading and learning skills, the Learning Laboratory has three levels of curricula for each workstation: Level 1 is designed for fourth- to sixth-grade students, Level 2 for seventh- to ninth-grade students and Level 3 for tenth- to twelfthgrade students. Individual workstations can also be modified to meet the needs of students with learning difficulties or vision, hearing or other physical challenges. Contact the Aviation Learning Center staff at or alc@museumofflight.org if you have any students who will require a different reading level or any other modification of one of our workstations. Our ALC staff can also assist you in assigning students with special needs or learning difficulties to the most appropriate station. The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 5

6 ACTIVITY 2 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE Find Your Way INTRODUCTION: In the Aviation Learning Center, students will plan an airplane trip and fly in a simulator. Before flying, students will fill out a flight plan and plot their course on a navigation chart. At first glance, the navigation charts used in aviation may seem very different from maps students are more familiar with. However, many of the elements found on an ordinary highway map are also found on the most complex navigation chart. This pre-visit activity will give your class practice in reading and using a map. Students will practice using the map legends, scale, compass rose, lines of latitude and longitude and charting a course the skills they will need to use during their Aviation Learning Center session at the Museum. Vocabulary: cardinal directions compass rose course distance direction Equator flight plan intermediate directions legend latitude longitude map navigation Prime Meridian Materials: Puget Sound Area Map (available at: 11 x 17 copy paper Rulers erasable colored pencils (or regular pencils) calculators Using the Map Legend worksheets Determining Directions worksheets Finding Latitude and Longitude worksheets Using the Map Legend Answer Key teacher handout Determining Directions Answer Key teacher handout Finding Latitude and Longitude Answer Key teacher handout The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 6

7 ACTIVITY 2 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE Procedure: 1. Set-up Copy the Puget Sound Area Map included in this pre-visit packet onto 11 x 17 paper. You will need one copy for each pair of students. If possible, make color copies of the map (black and white copies will still work for the activity, however). Make copies of the Using the Map Legend, Determining Directions and Finding Latitude and Longitude worksheets. You will need one copy of each worksheet for each pair of students. Read through these handouts in order to familiarize yourself with what the students will be doing. Answer keys are provided for the Using the Map Legend, Determining Directions and Finding Latitude and Longitude worksheets to help you when checking your students work. 2. Discuss Maps Begin by discussing maps with your students. Ask them to name different types of maps and to discuss what maps can be used for. Explain that maps are very important in aviation. Ask students to tell you why they think maps are important to pilots. Explain that pilots rely on maps or charts to navigate from place to place. Pilots use a special type of map called a terminal area chart (TAC) to help them navigate in specific areas. These charts may be different than the kinds of maps your students are accustomed to seeing; however, the skills students need when using a highway map are the same skills a pilot needs when using a navigational chart. 3. Form teams of two Tell your students that they will be working in pairs to practice some of the map-reading skills they will need during their Aviation Learning Center program at The Museum of Flight. Divide your class into pairs (if you have already completed activity 1, have students work in their ALC pairs). 4. Introduce the Puget Sound area map Give each group a copy of the Puget Sound area map. Explain that this is a state highway map of the western part of Washington State. Ask students who they think would use this map and what it would be used for. (ex. drivers would use the map to navigate in their cars) Explain that even though this is not an aviation map, some of the same skills needed to read an aviation map are the same skills you need to interpret a highway map. 5. Practice locating items on the map Ask each group to locate the following on their copy of the map: legend latitude lines Everett scale longitude lines Olympia compass rose Seattle After all groups have located these items on their maps, explain that they will work to find the answers to a series of questions in their worksheets. Be sure to review the worksheets and answer sheets ahead of time, so that you can assist your students. You may choose to do the worksheets together as a class or have the groups complete them independently. The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 7

8 ACTIVITY 2 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE 6. Using the Map Legend Worksheet Give each group a copy of the Using the Map Legend worksheet, two or three erasable colored pencils (or regular pencils) and a ruler. If you like, give students access to calculators for the mathematical calculations. Instruct students to use their map to find the answers to the questions on the worksheet. Depending on the learning level of your students, review map legends and scales with them before having them complete the worksheet. For younger students, you may want to answer all the questions together as a class. Once all of the groups have answered the questions on their worksheets, have the groups share their answers to each question on the Using the Map Legend worksheet. Use the Using the Map Legend Answer Key teacher handout to help you go over the correct answers. 7. Determining Directions Worksheet Give each group a copy of the Determining Directions worksheet and instruct them to use their map to find answers to the questions. Depending on your students learning level, you may need to review directions (north, east, south and west) and degrees of a circle before having them complete the worksheet. After all groups have completed the worksheet, have the groups share their answers. Use the Determining Directions Answer Key teacher handout to go over the correct answers. 8. Introduce Latitude and Longitude Lead a discussion with your students about latitude and longitude. Use a globe to point out the latitude and longitude lines, the Prime Meridian and the Equator. Explain that latitude and longitude are imaginary lines circling the Earth they run across a map or globe to form an imaginary visual grid. Use the information on Latitude and Longitude handout to help with your discussion. Depending on your students learning level, you may need to go over all of the information, or just some. Provide copies of this handout to your students if you wish. Also make sure that students understand how to figure out the latitude and longitude of a point that lies in-between the marked lines. 9. Latitude and Longitude Worksheet Give each group a copy of the Finding Latitude and Longitude worksheet and instruct them to use their map to find answers to the questions. For younger students, you might decide to do some or all of this worksheet together as a class. After all groups have completed the worksheet, have the groups share their answers. Use the Finding Latitude and Longitude Answer Key teacher handout to go over the correct answers. Additional Information: Save your students maps to use for the next activity. The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 8

9 ACTIVITY 3 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE Plan a Trip INTRODUCTION: In the Aviation Learning Center, students will plan an airplane trip and fly in a simulator. Before flying, students will plan their trip. They will have to use a chart (map) to figure out their route and record the details of their trip on a flight plan. In this activity, students will practice some of these skills by planning a car trip from Olympia to Everett using the same map as in Activity 2. Vocabulary: Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) Departure Destination Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) Plotting a course Route Standard time Time zone Zulu Time (Z) Materials: Puget Sound Area Maps (from Activity 2) Current weather forecast for Puget Sound area (or Internet access to a weather site) Rulers Erasable colored pencils (or regular pencils) Calculators Student worksheets from Activity 2 Trip Plan worksheet Trip Planning Instructions handout Procedure: 1. Set-up This activity builds upon the skills students practiced in Activity 2: Find Your Way. This activity should ideally be done shortly after your class has completed Activity 2. Students will use the same Puget Sound Area Map they used for Activity 2. They may also want to refer to the worksheets they filled out in Activity 2 as references for how to use and read the map. Make copies of the Trip Plan worksheet and Trip Planning Instructions handout for each pair of students. Read through the Trip Plan and Trip Planning Instructions and even work through the instructions and plan a trip yourself so that you can better assist your students and check their work. The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 9

10 ACTIVITY 3 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE Students will also need to know the current weather forecast to be able to plan their trip. Provide students with access to an Internet weather site, if possible, or print weather information for the day from a weather site. You can also obtain weather information from the newspaper or record the morning TV weather forecast and show it to your students in class. In cooler months, be sure to also obtain information on the mountain passes and roads that may close in winter. 2. Introduce Plotting a Course Tell students that pilots use a type of a map called an aeronautical chart to decide ahead of time what course, or path, he or she wants to follow when planning a flight. This is often called plotting a course. Tell students that when your class attends the Aviation Learning Center program, one of their tasks will be to plan a trip and plot a course for an airplane. Explain that in this activity, they are going to practice trip planning by planning a car trip from Olympia to Everett, WA. 3. Form teams of two Tell your students that they will again be working in pairs to plan their trip for this activity. Divide your class into the same pairs as for Activity 2. (If you have already completed activity 1, have students continue to work in their ALC pairs). 4. Introduce the Activity Distribute copies of the Puget Sound area map. Explain to students that they are going to plan a car trip using a highway map. Their car trip will begin in Olympia and end in Everett. They will plan for their trip to begin sometime during the class day and will need to take into account the weather conditions. You will give them the starting and ending point for their trip but they will choose which route to follow. They must only use roads listed on the map, they may not use ferries, train tracks or hiking trails. 5. Review How to Find Distance on the Map Ask students to tell you how to figure out distance between two points on this map. Once you have a few suggestions, go over the two ways they can find distance. One method they used in Activity 2 using the scale located in the legend. You can use a ruler to find the straight-line distance between two cities and then use the scale to convert that measurement into miles. Ask students if they think this would give an accurate measurement of how many miles a car would need to travel between the two points. This method is great for airplanes because they are able to fly in straight lines and do not need to follow roads. But this would not work for cars because cars do have to follow roads. Ask students to look on their map legends and locate another method of finding the mileage between towns. If students look carefully on the legend, they should see that mileage can be found on the map using small red triangular tick-marks. There are tickmarks all along the roads on the map, typically at intersections or exits or towns. Between each pair of tick-marks, a small number is printed in red. This number indicates the mileage in-between the two tick-marks. Once students have their routes mapped out, they can add up the mileage between each of the tick-marks that occur along their route. There may be The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 10

11 ACTIVITY 3 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE instances where a departure and/or destination point lies in-between tick-marks. In that case, students should be able to estimate the distance using the tick-marks as a guide, or using the scale on the legend to measure the last increment. At this point, if you feel your students need to practice this, have each pair answer the following: What is the mileage between the towns of Wilkeson and Enumclaw? Give students a few minutes to find the two towns and figure out the mileage using the tick-marks. Then call for answers. Students should find that there are 9 miles between Wilkeson and Enumclaw. 6. Review Latitude and Longitude: Make sure that students understand how to find latitude and longitude on their maps. If needed, review latitude and longitude with your students, using the Latitude and Longitude handouts from Activity 2 to help. 7. Introduce Time in aviation: Explain to your students that pilots use a 24-hour clock or military time, rather than a.m. and p.m. Military time is measured in twenty-four hour units. The unit begins at 0001 hours after midnight and continues to the following midnight which is 0000 hours. Twelve o clock noon is 1200 hours. Time after noon begins at 1300 hours and continues to midnight. Write the following standard times on the board and have your students give you the military time answers: STANDARD TIME MILITARY TIME 9:00 AM 0900 hours 10:30 AM 1030 hours 12:00 noon 1200 hours 1:15 PM 1315 hours 6:49 PM 1849 hours 10:30 PM 2230 hours 12:00 PM 0000 hours Explain to you students that pilots do not use the local time zones as their time reference. This way, pilots and air traffic controllers do not have to constantly convert from one time zone to another. In aviation, all pilots use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or Zulu Time so that everyone is using the same time reference anywhere in the world. UTC/Zulu Time is the same time as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) converted to a 24-hour clock. Hand out copies of the Converting Local Time to Zulu Time handout and briefly review the chart with your students so they understand how to read it. Make sure they know their current local time zone and can locate it on the chart. Students will use this conversion chart as they plan their trip. (Note: for older students, you can have them calculate Zulu Time rather than use this chart) The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 11

12 ACTIVITY 3 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE 8. Distribute Materials and Begin the Activity Hand out copies of the Trip Plan worksheet and Trip Planning Instructions handout. Give one copy of each to each pair of students. Explain that students will fill out the Trip Plan for their car trip. The Trip Planning Instructions will tell them step-by-step what information to put in each space in the Trip Plan. 9. Watch Students Work Circulate among the teams, offering encouragement and checking to see that they are interpreting their map and filling out their Trip Plan correctly. They also should be marking their route on the map so that it is easy to see. Encourage students to try different routes they do not need to choose the one that is the most direct. Also make sure they are only using roads printed on the map to travel between the departure and destination. 10. Consider the Weather Conditions Once students have made some progress on their trip planning, call for attention and ask all the teams to stop working so that you can provide them with a weather report. Present the weather information you obtained earlier or allow students to go online and either as a class or in groups look up the weather forecast for the day. Students should make note of the weather conditions they expect to find along their route. Once everyone has the weather information for their trip, have the students finish planning their trips. 11. Trip Presentations Once all the teams have completed their trip planning, have each team present their trip plan and map to the class. Check their work, making sure that they have filled out the Trip Plan correctly for the course they have plotted. Some of the students answers will vary depending on the route they choose. Extensions: Have students choose their own departure and destination points. The points must be cities or towns identified on the map and there must be at least 50 miles between the two points. Have students determine the travel time for their trip using different speeds for each type of road they will travel on, rather than just one average speed no matter which route they choose. For example, you could have them calculate travel time based on the following speeds for each type of road: Interstate Highway U.S. Highway State Highway Local Road 60 miles per hour 55 miles per hour 45 miles per hour 35 miles per hour Challenge students to also decide what type of vehicle they are going to drive. Once they choose a type of vehicle, they can research its average gas mileage and figure out how much fuel they will need for the trip. The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 12

13 ACTIVITY 3 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE Have students plan longer trips and even plan a trip that includes taking a ferry. They will need to research ferry schedules and wait times so they can factor that in to their travel time depending on the time of day they choose to depart. Obtain a large state highway map and have students plan a longer trip across the state. Washington State Highway maps can be obtained from The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 13

14 ACTIVITY 4 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE Features and Limits of Design INTRODUCTION: Airplanes are complex machines; and the process of designing and constructing them is lengthy and involved. Every airplane design is unique and has certain features and limits, which only makes the design process more complex. This activity will allow students to discover some of the basic ideas and processes involved in design. They will design, construct, and test a paper airplane design that satisfies certain criteria. Vocabulary: Criteria Design Engineers Features Limits Materials: Paper for airplane designs & construction (in a variety of weights and sizes if possible) Links to folding instructions for simple paper airplanes: Tape (Scotch tape or other brand of cellophane tape) Scissors Rulers, tape measures and/or meter sticks Paper and pencil (to record test flight results) Paper clips Markers, crayons or colored pencils (to decorate the airplanes) Classroom Flight Data Teacher Handout Part A: Design and Construction 1. Set-up Gather the paper to be used to construct the paper airplanes. Try to gather paper in different weights and sizes so that students have a variety of materials to work with. Plain copy paper or notebook paper will also work fine for this activity. As the students work on their airplane designs, they are going to need to do a lot of test flights. Designate an area of your classroom to be the test flight area. Mark or tape off this area and tape a line on the floor where the students are to stand and designate a direction in which they are to throw their airplanes. You may even want to make a Test Flight Rules sign and post it in the test flight area as a reminder (see instruction #7 for a list of suggested rules). The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 14

15 ACTIVITY 4 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE 2. Practice folding paper airplanes (optional) If you wish, gather some books on paper airplane folding or locate some paper airplane designs online and print copies for your students. Then as a pre-activity, have your students practice folding different types of paper airplanes. Ideally, this should be done a few days before the rest of the activity. This will give them some experience, which will be helpful as they create their own airplane designs. Do not use the books or folding instructions during the actual design process, however. Encourage students to develop their own designs rather than use ones out of a book or ones they folded in practice. 3. Discuss airplane design Explain to students that every airplane design has features and limits. Ask students to brainstorm what type of features and limits there may be on airplane design. Write their answers on a chalkboard, white board or piece of chart paper. Examples of features: Purpose or type of plane (ex. passenger, cargo, military, private) Efficiency (how well it works or flies) Special capabilities such as being able to land gently or being able to communicate with other planes Examples of limits: Money/funding Time Maximum size Available materials Space to build or use Human capabilities to use it 4. Pose the Airplane Design Challenge Tell students that they have been given the challenge to design a new airplane. This airplane will be made out of paper and must satisfy all of the following characteristics: Write the following list of characteristics on the board. Note to teacher: Do not write limit or feature next to each characteristic. This information is only for you. All parts of the airplane must be made out of paper. Tape may be used to secure parts of the airplane together but no other materials such as rubber bands, paper clips, etc. may be used in the airplane s design. (limit) The airplane must be able to carry a cargo of at least five paper clips. (feature) The airplane must be able to fly 4 meters or feet in a straight line without stopping and without losing its cargo. (feature) The airplane may only be flown in the flight test area designated by the teacher. (limit) Ask the students to read the list of characteristics. Decide as a class which characteristics are features and which are limits. Once the students have categorized the characteristics, write the word feature or limit next to each one. Leave the characteristics on the board for students to refer to later. You could also rewrite the characteristics so there is one list of features and one list of limits. The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 15

16 ACTIVITY 4 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE 5. Define Design Tell students that people who design things as simple as can openers or as complicated as space shuttles are called engineers. Design means two things. First, a design is a product or the plan for making something. It could be a picture, technical drawing or description. A blueprint is an example of a design. Design is also the process of figuring out how to construct something. Designing involves thinking, imagining, trying things out, and using materials wisely. Engineers are concerned with both the process of designing and the products that result. 6. Form Teams Tell students they will work in pairs to design and build their airplane. Divide the class into pairs. Have the students work in their Aviation Learning Center pairs if you have already assigned them (see Activity 1). 7. Explain the Rules of the Test Flight area Before students begin building their planes, show them the test flight area you set up in the classroom. Explain the following rules for using the area: 1. Airplanes may only be flown in the test flight area 2. No one may be in the test flight area when an airplane is being flown 3. Only one plane at a time may be flown 4. To fly your airplane, stand behind the line and throw in one direction only. Once it lands, retrieve your plane and leave the test flight area. You can add other rules as needed for your area. 8. Begin Design Process Have the students work in their groups to brainstorm ideas for the design of their airplane and then begin working on it. Circulate among the teams, offering encouragement. Be sure to allow them plenty of time to develop their own ideas rather than relying on you for direction. It is also acceptable for students to talk to other teams and get ideas from what the others are doing. Encourage the groups to make sketches of their designs and make notes on what worked and what didn t. If you wish, you can also provide markers, crayons or colored pencils so students can decorate their airplanes. 9. Share Ideas When the first teams are ready to test their paper airplanes, call for attention. Ask one student from each team to share one design idea they incorporated into their airplane. They can also share problems they are having in the design of their airplanes, so that other groups could offer solutions. Remind the class that there are many possible solutions to the problem of building a plane. 10. Test the airplanes As students begin test-flying their airplane designs, watch to see if there are problems common to each design. If many groups are having similar problems, it may be a good time to have another sharing ideas session to brainstorm ideas to fix the common problems. If The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 16

17 ACTIVITY 4 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE a few teams are having a lot of problems and are beginning to get frustrated, encourage them to visit other teams for suggestions. 11. Compare Designs Once all teams have a finished airplane, ask each to share their paper airplane design with the class. They can also make a sketch of their design that includes labels that show how each feature and limit will be met in their airplane. The students should be encouraged to explain the reasoning behind their design including meeting the features and limits. This explanation can be written on their design or done verbally. As a class, check to see that the airplane includes all the features and was built within the specific limits. Review the lists of features and limits written on the board earlier. 12. Final Revisions If needed, allow students to make any final changes to their airplane design. If they found that their plane did not meet all of the limits and features, then they will need to make adjustments to their design in order to satisfy these requirements. Give them no more than about minutes to make their final modifications and finish any decorating they want to do to their airplane. Be sure to have students write their names on their airplane. Carefully collect all the airplanes and set them aside until you are ready to fly them. Ideally, you should wait until the next day or class period to fly the planes. Part B: Flying the Paper Airplanes 1. Set-up A clear space will be needed where the planes can be flown at least 4 meters. You will also need room for all the students to gather around to watch, so this area will most-likely be larger than the test flight area you set up in Part A. You can move desks and tables around in your classroom to make the flight area or if you want more room, set up a flight area in your school s gym, multipurpose room or any open area. Mark a starting line with tape or rope and designate a direction in which students are to fly their planes. Gather meter sticks and/ or tape measures as well as paper and pencils for students to record their results. 2. Divide Teams into 3 Flying Groups Divide the class into 3 groups so that 3-5 teams fly their planes at once. You can vary the size and number of the groups depending on the number of students in your class and the space and time available. 3. Begin Flights for Group 1 Have all the teams in group 1 get their airplanes and go to the starting line while the other two groups watch. Make sure each airplane has its cargo (5 small paperclips) on board. Have one student from each team stand at the starting line with their plane. Give the other student from each team a tape measure or meter stick. When you say go, have the students fly their planes. Explain to them that they are not allowed to touch the plane once it has taken off (once they have thrown it). The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 17

18 ACTIVITY 4 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE 4. Measure Distance for Group 1 Have team members who did not fly the planes measure the distance that their planes flew in meters and centimeters and then record the data on their papers. Once all the teams in the group have recorded their data, instruct all teams to pick up their planes and move to the side. 5. Repeat Flights Repeat steps 3 and 4 with groups 2 and 3 until all students have flown their plane. Then, repeat the process two more times with each group so that all students have data from three test flights on their sheets. 6. Analyze Results Create a classroom data table on a chalkboard, whiteboard or chart paper. Use the Classroom Flight Data Teacher Handout as a guide or develop your own. Make six columns and label them: Team, Flight 1, Flight 2, Flight 3, Average, and Longest Flight. Have each team record the distance their plane traveled in meters and centimeters for each flight. Then have them calculate the average distance traveled and record that distance in the Average column. Then have them record their plane s longest flight in the Longest Flight column. Once all teams have added their data to the classroom chart, lead a discussion with your class about what the results show. Which designs were the most successful? Which designs were the most consistent (flew about the same distance each time)? Which plane recorded the longest distance? Which plane(s) met all of the criteria (made entirely out of paper and carried the cargo at least four meters)? 7. Wrap-up Explain that the students followed a process very similar to that of engineers. Explain that the basic design process includes defining a problem, identifying features and limits, generating ideas, selecting a solution, testing the solution(s), making the item, evaluating it, improving the design, and presenting the results. Discuss the activity and results with your students. A sample of questions to ask is listed below. Feel free to use these or develop your own. This could be a classroom discussion or you could have students write their answers. Be sure to have the students explain the reasoning behind their answers: What went well during the design of your airplane? What problems did you encounter during the design process? How well did your plane meet the guidelines set up by the teacher? How did you make sure that you stayed within the limits? Were any of the planes perfectly designed? If not, how could your plane be improved? Was there more than one solution to the problem? Do you think engineers design planes that are perfect? Explain to students that the planes engineers design may appear to be perfect, but they can always be improved. Engineers who design airplanes always model their design, test it, evaluate it, and then change the design to make it better. There is no perfect design for anything; all designs can be improved. The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 18

19 ACTIVITY 4 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE Extensions: Challenge students to improve their design and fly their airplanes again. Give students additional limits and/or features and have students modify their current design or create a new airplane to satisfy the additional criteria. You could limit the type of paper that the students can use, not allow them to use tape or glue, limit the size of the airplanes, require them to carry additional cargo, or require them to fly farther. Have students use stopwatches to measure how long their airplanes stayed in the air. Then use the distance traveled and the time aloft to determine the speed their plane was traveling. Have students experiment with their airplane designs to test how many paperclips their plane can fly and/or how far. The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 19

20 ACTIVITY 5 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE Roll With Newton s Laws of Motion INTRODUCTION: In the Aviation Learning Center, students will learn about some of the forces that act on an airplane and allow it to fly through the air. This pre-visit activity will familiarize your students with some of the basic forces that affect all objects in motion, including airplanes. Vocabulary: Acceleration Aerodynamics Force Gravity Inertia Newton s Laws of Motion Mass Speed Velocity Materials: Ping-pong ball Hair dryer with low & high speed settings Balloon Flat, thin, and very stiff board approximately 2 ½ to 3 feet long and 7 to 12 inches wide and ¼ inch thick (very sturdy foam board or cardboard also works). Remote-controlled toy car or truck (the car should be at least as half as wide as your board but not larger than the board) long dowels (or round pencils) A few small weights (or small heavy objects like batteries) to weigh down the remotecontrolled car, if needed. Flat smooth surface (a smooth tabletop or bare floor) Newton s Laws Observations worksheets, Newton s Three Laws of Motion, Newton s Laws Applied to Aerodynamics and Observations Answer Key handouts Part A: Design and Construction 1. Set-up For this activity, you will be doing a series of demonstrations as you discuss Newton s three laws of motion. For each demonstration, your students will predict what they think will happen and then they will record their observations on the Newton s Laws Observations worksheets. Before doing the activity with your students, read through the instructions and practice each of the demonstrations. The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 20

21 ACTIVITY 5 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE The final demonstration involves using a remote-controlled toy car on top of a board that is sitting on some round dowels. As you gather materials for this demonstration, make sure that the size of the board and dowels fits the size of the car that you are using. Also make sure that the board you are using is sturdy enough to hold the car without bending. Ask your students if anyone has a remote-controlled car you can borrow for this activity before you spend the money to purchase a new one. Test the car demonstration before doing this activity with your students. Set the dowels on a smooth flat surface like a long table or a bare floor. The demonstration will not work on carpet or any type of material. Set the board on top of the dowels and the car on top of the board. Use the remote control to slowly move the car forward and backward along the board. You should be able to see that when the car tries to move forward, the board moves backward and the net effect is that the car stays almost in one spot (until it reaches the end of the board). Since the board is not very long, you may have to move the car forward and backward to see that the result is no net motion. If the car is too lightweight or moves too fast, attach some weights to the car (2-4 D batteries taped to the top of the car work well) to weigh it and slow it down so that your students can better see the effect. Make copies of the Newton s Laws Observations worksheets, Newton s Three Laws of Motion and Newton s Laws Applied to Aerodynamics handouts. 2. Discuss Forces Before beginning the activity, lead a discussion with your students about forces. Ask students to explain what a force is. Students should explain that a force is either a push or a pull on an object. Next, ask students to name different types of forces anything from a push or a pull to the force of gravity or electromagnetism. Make a list of the forces the students name on a chalk board, white board or large piece of paper at the front of the room. Be sure to include the four forces of flight (lift, weight(gravity), thrust and drag) on the list. Save this list to refer back to at the end of the activity. 3. Introduce Newton s Three Laws of Motion Next, explain to your students that they are going to explore some of the laws that govern how objects move when acted upon by a force. Tell your students that Sir Isaac Newton wrote three laws of motion that govern how objects move when acted upon by a force. Go through the following demonstrations that will help you discuss Newton s three laws, using Newton s Three Laws of Motion handout as a reference. If you wish, provide copies of the handout for the students to use during the discussions. Give students copies of the Newton s Laws Observations worksheets. Explain that they will be writing down their predictions and observations for each demonstration. 4. Demonstration 1: Ball Drop (Newton s First Law of Motion) Begin by stating Newton s first law of motion: an object at rest remains at rest unless an outside force acts upon it, and an object in motion remains in motion with uniform velocity unless an outside force acts upon it. The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 21

22 ACTIVITY 5 AVIATION LEARNING CENTER PRE and POST VISIT ACTIVITY GUIDE Explain that Newton s first law of motion suggests that things at rest tend to remain at rest unless acted upon by a force. So in order for something to move, some kind of force has to act on it. Hold an object (ping-pong ball, coin, crumpled up piece of paper) at arm s length in front of you. Ask the students to predict what will happen if you let go of the object in your hand and write their prediction on their Newton s Laws Observations worksheet for Demonstration 1. Once everyone has written a prediction, let go of the ball. Have the students record their answers to the remaining questions on the Observations worksheet for Demonstration 1. Once everyone has recorded their observations, discuss the answers. Ask the students what they think would have happened if you had done this same demonstration in the microgravity environment of space. Extend your students understanding of Newton s first law of motion to include the concept that an object in motion with uniform velocity will continue in motion unless acted upon by a force. Ask the students what happens to a baseball when it is thrown. Discuss how gravity and drag are forces that act upon the ball to slow it down and cause it to come to rest. Summarize this concept by telling the students that forces tend to set objects into motion, change the direction of motion, or stop objects from moving. Ask the students for examples that illustrate Newton s first law of motion. 5. Demonstration 2: Speeding Ball (Newton s Second Law of Motion) Discuss Newton s second law of motion (F = ma) by placing the mathematical formula, Force = mass x acceleration, on the board or a large piece of paper at the front of the room. Explain that Newton s second law of motion says that the amount of force acting on an object is equal to the object s mass multiplied by the acceleration that results from the force. Explain that acceleration is a measure of how fast a moving object speeds up. Set a Ping-Pong ball on top of an empty table or desk. Plug in the hair dryer and make sure that the cord will reach to the table. Explain to students that you are going to put the hair dryer behind the Ping-Pong ball and then turn the hair dryer on. Explain that you will do this demonstration twice once with the hair dryer on low-speed and once with it on highspeed. Ask the students to write how they think the speed of the hair dryer will affect the movement of the Ping-Pong ball. Have them write their prediction on their Newton s Laws Observations worksheet for Demonstration 2. Once everyone has written a prediction, perform the demonstration. Hold the nozzle of the hair dryer directly behind the Ping-Pong ball and turn the hair dryer on low speed. Set the ball up again and perform the same action, this time with the hair dryer on high speed. Have the students record their answers to the remaining questions on the Observations worksheet for Demonstration 2. Once everyone has recorded their observations, discuss the answers. Finish the discussion by asking students for examples from everyday life that illustrate Newton s second law of motion. The Museum of Flight. September 8, Copyright 2009 The Museum of Flight. All rights reserved. 22