SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-on Activity Training
TeachEngineering Hands-on
Activity:
*Design a Flying Machine
TeachEngineering Digital Library:
teachengineering.org
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/text/currentevent/Im
age_Gallery_prt.htm
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
TeachEngineering Digital Library
http://www.teachengineering.org
• The TeachEngineering digital library provides free,
teacher-tested, standards-based engineering
content for K-12 teachers to use in science and
math classrooms.
• Engineering lessons and activities connect realworld experiences with curricular content already
taught in K-12 classrooms.
• TeachEngineering's comprehensive curricula are
hands-on, inexpensive, and relevant to children's
daily lives.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
General Advice
• Be prepared! Do each activity beforehand
• Make sure all materials are available
• Keep students on task
• Follow the time frame
• Be flexible
• Have Fun!!
http://travel.wikinut.com/img/2hpjpyizfd8ukz50/public-domain-photo%3A-airplane
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Full Activity on TeachEngineering
•
Students draw a design for their own flying machine. They apply
their knowledge of aircraft design and the forces acting on them.
Students start with a brainstorming activity where they come up
with creative uses for every day objects and then use their
creativity and knowledge of airplanes to design their own flying
machine.
• Engineering focus:
o
Partial Engineering Design Process
• Students focus on the brainstorming and design aspect of the engineering
design process.
• Learning objectives:
o
Work in a group to brainstorm a design of a flying machine.
o
Use principles of geometry (including surface area, shape and symmetry) in their
designs.
o
Apply the forces of flight to a model design and justify their design in terms of
those factors.
o
Share their design with the class and explain the important features to their peers.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
• Suggested time: 45 minutes
• Suggested group size: 2
students/group
• Materials
o Each group needs:
• 1-2 sheets of construction paper per student
• A variety of media: crayons, colored pencils,
markers, etc.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PSM_V58_D629_Blanchard_fl
ying_machine.png
• 4 or 5 kitchen or household utensils (“odd”
shapes if possible, like a whisk, pastry cutter, a
wire coat hanger, and tongs
• A brown paper bag
• A protractor, ruler or compass, if desired
• Assorted craft construction or recycled
materials
• Flying Machine Worksheet
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/list
bytype/The_Process_Involved_in_Aircraft_Design.html
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Engineering Connection (Real World Application):
• The key to successful engineering is to bring together knowledge of
science, creative ideas, productive brainstorms, design/test/build cycles
and scientific testing. When all these elements come together, an engineer
is likely to come up with a successful design!
• Even though an engineer needs to know a lot about airplanes to design a
new one, teamwork, communication and testing is required for the new
aircraft to be a successful design
• In this activity, tell your students that they will be working as aerospace
engineers for NAVAIR (the US Naval Air Systems Command). NAVAIR would
like teams of aerospace engineers to work together to brainstorm and
design new, efficient and futuristic flying machines! Each small team will
share their ideas so that NAVAIR can learn more about each creative
design.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Vocabulary Terms
Definitions
lift
When the air pressure below a wing is greater than the air pressure
above the wing, there is a net upward force called the lift.
thrust
The forward-directed force developed in a jet or rocket engine as a
reaction to the high-velocity rearward ejection of exhaust gases or a
propeller.
drag
The phenomenon of resistance to motion through a fluid.
weight
The force with which a body is attracted to Earth or another celestial
body, equal to the product of the object's mass and the acceleration of
gravity.
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k12/UEET/StudentSite/dynamicsofflight.html
http://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collectio
n/cub_/lessons/cub_airplanes/cub_airplanes_lesson02.xml
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Introduction:
o How many students like to doodle? Many inventions were “doodles”
before they become reality. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was
famous for his notebook doodles and sketches of ideas for “futuristic”
things that today are realities, such as helicopters, parachutes, and
airplanes. When you doodle an idea down on a piece of paper, you
are really starting the invention design process – generating ideas.
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/aviation/ideaflight.htm
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Introduction:
o Brainstorming is another way of coming up
with ideas. It is when a group of people get
together and try to answer a problem by
thinking of any idea (even wild!) and
building upon it as a team. Have you ever
heard the phrase “Two minds are better
than one?” This is because each unique
person has a different, unique way of
answering a question, and sometimes when
you are stuck on the answer to a question
or problem, a little help from a friend or
neighbor can help make the solution easier.
Brainstorming generally occurs in the first
part of the engineering design process.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Introduction:
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Introduction:
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Before the Activity:
o
Gather materials and household objects. Put several kitchen/household in a
brown paper bag, and repeat for the number of student groups in the class.
o
If time allows, make a sample invention (e.g., a rocket ship powered by
water) to give students a model of what they will be doing.
o
Make copies of the Flying Machine Worksheet.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Activity Procedure:
1. Ask students what inventions they think were important in the history of
flight.
Examples:
o Sir George Cayley invented a glider in 1804.
o The Wright brothers invented the first powered airplane in 1903.
o Seaplanes were invented in 1912
o In 1933, the Boeing Company designed the first modern airliner, the Boeing 247.
o The jet engine was patented in 1930 by Frank Whittle in Britain.
o In 1983, the Stealth fighters – planes that are difficult to detect using radar –
were made public.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Activity Procedure:
2. Go through brainstorming steps with the class. Describe brainstorming as a
component to the inventing process, and bring up the point that
engineers invent all the time. Explain SCAMPER as a way to think
differently about an object.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
SCAMPER Example: Take a common household object like a wire
coat hanger.
o
The first step is to Substitute: can you substitute another shape or material for
the coat hanger? Perhaps your idea could be made out of pipe cleaners, or
perhaps the coat hanger could be reworked into a square instead of a
triangle.
o
Next, we look at Combining. Can we combine the coat hanger with Velcro®
so more clothes can attach to it? Can we combine it with a fragrance, so your
clothes smell better?
o
Then we go to Adapt: What could be adapted on the coat hanger to make it
more useful? Would two hooks work better than one?
o
Next, you would go to Modify/Minify/Magnify, and ask what could be bigger,
or smaller, and so on.
o
The final steps are: Eliminate and Rearrange. Here we try and find what can be
removed from the coat hanger or what can be moved on it.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Activity Procedure:
3. Hold up a paper bag and ask students to guess what it contains. Let them
take a few guesses, and shake the bag once or twice. Then pull out one
item and have students brainstorm other uses for the object. List ideas on
the board. Then give each group of students one brown bag and have
them pull out ONE item. Have them brainstorm uses of their particular
item. When students’ ideas are exhausted, have each table share a few
of the more creative ideas.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Brainstorming#mediaviewer/File:Brai
nstorming.gif
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Activity Procedure:
4. Explain that now each student group will get to design a flying machine
for NAVAIR. They will need to incorporate the ideas and concepts, such as
drag, thrust, lift and weight. Make a word web on the board, with “Flying
Machine” in the center, and those forces of flight as branches around the
outside. Have the class brainstorm ways to incorporate those concepts
into their flying machine design. Add the students’ ideas under each
component on the web. Then add “Fuel” and “Materials” to the web. Ask
them what types of fuel might be used in the future.
http://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collection/cub_/lessons/cub_
airplanes/cub_airplanes_lesson04.xml
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Activity Procedure:
5. Have students dump their bag onto their desk onto their desk or table and
begin to brainstorm ideas for their new flying machine. Remind them of
the rules of brainstorming. Roam around the groups to help them with
brainstorming and to hear their creative ideas.
Note: Let students know that the models of their flying machines that they will
build do not have to actually work!
5. Explain to students that engineers use many geometric ideas when they
design planes. Airplane wings can move at different angles, some shapes
are more aerodynamic than others (thus reducing drag), and a rocket
ship or airplane usually has a symmetrical design.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Activity Procedure:
7. Encourage students to complete a rough draft in pencil. Once a student
group has decided on a plane design, encourage them to use a variety
of materials for the final design.
8. Pass out any extra art materials and paper, and let students work on their
flying machine.
9. Have students complete the Flying Machine Worksheet (Note: some
shapes have several lines of symmetry. Encourage students to find as
many as they can for each shape.)
10. Finally, have student groups share their flying machines. Remind them
that they have been working as aerospace engineers for NAVAIR and
want to impress NAVAIR with their design!
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Assessment:
o Pre-Activity Assessment
o
Discussion Question: In small groups, have students engage in open discussion.
Remind students that no idea or suggestion is "silly." All ideas should be respectfully
heard. Write down all the groups' ideas on the board to share with the class.
”What inventions may have helped with modern flight and airplanes?"
o Activity Embedded Assessment
o
Brainstorming: Have students generate a number of possible ideas about the uses of
an object from their paper bag.
o
Word Web: Make a word web on the board, with “Flying Machine” in the center, and
drag, thrust, lift and weight as branches off the center, around the outside. Have the
class brainstorm ways to incorporate the four forces of flight into their flying machine
design. Add the student ideas under each component on the web. Then add “Fuel”
and “Materials” as branches to the web. Ask them what types of fuel might be used in
the future.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Assessment:
o Post-Activity Assessment:
o Show and Tell: Have student groups show off their futuristic flying machine
to the rest of the class.
• Have them explain how they considered the four forces of flight (drag,
thrust, lift and weight) in their design.
• Then have them explain what they think is the best part of their design
and what could possibly go wrong with it (i.e., what could be fixed in
future models of their flying machine).
• Remind students that engineers go through the design-build-redesign
process many times before they get to a finished product.
• Have other student groups write down one thing that they like about
the presenters’ flying machine. Share these with the class.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Teaching tips:
o Some students love to create and will want to start before you
are ready, or before you have even finished explaining the
directions. Other students will complain that they cannot think
of anything to draw. They may need to start with your model,
or a basic airplane, and add unusual components, or may
need to make a web with their ideas to help their creativity. If
they need to, students can refer to the web made in class.
o It may be helpful to put “tubs” with the art media at each
table with various pencils, crayons and markers in them so that
each team has ready access to art supplies.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Design a Flying Machine
Optional Scaling and Extensions:
o Have students draw another view of their craft from the top or
another side view. They could also add collage-type effects to
their craft, using glue, other colored paper, textured paper,
etc. to add another dimension to their work. Students could
also be challenged to try to draw their design to scale and
show all relevant measurements and an appropriate scale.
o The flying machines can be hung up for display.
o Students could could continue with paper airplane design and
inventing new prototypes.
o Real inventions can be studied and researched as they relate
to the topic of flight, or inventions in general could be
researched if students developed an interest.
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
Activity Takeaways
• Teambuilding skills
o Working together on brainstorming and designing a futuristic flying machine.
• Engineering skills
o Partial Engineering Design Process: Students focus on the brainstorm and
design steps of the engineering design process
• Encouragement through creativity
o Students learn about the creative side of
engineering design and are encouraged to
use their imagination freely.
• Motivation through having fun
o Introduce the activity as a fun learning
experience!
http://www.buckeyeaz.gov/index.aspx?nid=163
SHPE Foundation
SHPE Jr. Chapter Curriculum
Hands-On Activity Training
TeachEngineering Contact Information
• TeachEngineering: http://www.teachengineering.org/
o over 1,300 standards-based engineering lessons and activities
• Carleigh Samson, TeachEngineering Editor
o carleigh.samson@colorado.edu
o 303.492.6950
Questions?
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