Science

Engineering Challenge: To build a parachute that will safely land a small toy.

Gather your materials: You can use a variety of materials to make your parachute. Trying out different ones to see which work the best will be part of the challenge. Some materials that you can try: napkins, paper towels, tissue paper, newspaper, coffee filter, plastic garbage bags, plastic bags. Other supplies you will need are: string, tape, small toy and a hole punch if you have one.

Design: Decide what material you want to use for your parachute. What size circle do you want to use? The size of the circle matters. How many holes do you want to put into the parachute to tie the string through? How long do you want your strings to be?

Build your machine: Cut your material in a circle. Make holes around the edge of your circle. (You can put a piece of tape where you are going to put your holes, to make it stronger). Tie equal length string through each of the holes.

Predict: Take your parachute to the test location. Drop your toy first without the parachute. Do you think it will make a hard or a soft landing? Can you predict with precisions, where it is going to land?

Test: Tie your toy to the parachute that you made. Where do you think it will land? Do you think the toy will land differently now that you have tied it to a parachute? WIth help from your parents, drop the parachute from a height that is safe. Before you drop it , make sure the strings are not tangled.

Reflect: How did your parachute work? Did your toy land softly? What did not work well that you would like to improve?

Redesign: How can you change your parachute to make it work better? Do you need to make a bigger or smaller circle? Use a different parachute material? Sse more or less string?

Challenge:

1. Add a cup for your toy to ride in. How would you do that? How might that change how your parachute falls?

2. Cut a small hole in the middle of your parachute. How does this change how the parachute falls? Can you predict where it will land easier that you could when your parachute had no hole in the middle?

Remember to record your observations in your moon journal.