Science Challenge

Day Six Science Challenge: Paper Airplane Launcher

[activity adapted from Science Buddies]

• Your challenge is to build a paper airplane launcher.

• Possible materials: Paper, Rubber bands/elastic, Paper clips, Tape or stapler, Construction materials to build a paper airplane launcher. You can use whatever materials you have available. Examples include cardboard, building toys such as LEGO® or K'NEX®, or wood.

• To do this project, you will need to know how to build a basic paper airplane. Follow these paper airplane instructions if you need to learn how.

Procedure

• Build several paper airplanes to test. Because paper airplanes can get bent or destroyed easily, it's a good idea to build more than one. Ensure that they are all built the same for this activity.

• Tape or staple a paper clip (you could improvise if you don't have a paperclip) to the nose of each paper airplane. The outer straight part of the paper clip should point backward parallel to the bottom of the plane, so it can serve as a hook to attach to the rubber band. There will be some pull on the hook, so make sure it's secure.

• Now use the engineering design process to build a launcher for your airplane.

  • Think about the criteria for your design:

    • You will need to build a device to support the rubber band. It will need to be strong enough that it does not collapse when you pull back on the rubber band.

    • You will also need to make sure the paper airplane does not get caught or snagged on the device when you launch it.

  • Draw a few sketches of your design ideas, and pick one to build.

• Build a prototype of your design. You might find that things don't fit together like you thought they would, and you need to change your design. That's okay! This picture shows three different designs built with different materials.

• Test your airplane launcher. It probably won't work perfectly on the first try. What changes can you make to your design to make it better?

• Keep improving your launcher and testing it again (and, if necessary, again).

• Take a picture of your work and submit it using this Day Six Science Challenge Form or send me a video of the launch to my email at julie.moore@fayette.kyschools.us.

Student Submissions