The paper airplane engineering challenge is a fun way to test kids’ design skills and makes a wonderful introduction to engineering activities for kids and as part of no-prep STEM challenges!
One of my kids’ favorite things are paper airplanes. Any time my kids get a piece of loose paper, they try to turn it into airplane. For this engineering project, we decided to take their love of making paper airplanes and make it educational.
Follow along with our activity to learn how we set up our engineering challenge using paper planes and how you can set up your own airplane engineering challenge!
Easy Paper Airplane Engineering Challenge
Follow along with these directions to learn how to set up your own paper plane engineering challenge with kids at home or in the classroom!
What You Need for the Paper Airplane Engineering Challenge
- Assorted types of paper (or get a pack of paper airplane paper)
- Paper airplane book (this is the one we used
) - Measuring tape
Step 1: Choose a Plane Design
Monkey looked at the plane designs in the book and decided which she wanted to attempt to make. In our book, some of the planes were a little challenging for her (8 years old), so she did need a bit of help making some designs.
Step 2: Choose a Paper for Your Plane
Decide which planes you want to make out of which paper. We used computer paper for some and construction paper for others.
Step 3: Construct the Paper Airplanes
We followed the directions in our book to create the plane designs. You can also make your own designs and see what happens.
Step 4: Start the Paper Airplane Engineering Challenge
This was our favorite part. We spent an hour or more throwing the planes across the house.
Monkey loved the planes that looped. I liked the planes that could glide for long distances.
We didn’t judge our planes, just observed their differences. Light, pointed planes flew far and straight, while shorter, wider planes with folds in the wings would make loops or crazy turns.
However, if you want to judge the planes in more of a paper airplane engineering challenge, see which material produces the best planes, which design can go farthest, which design can do the most tricks, and anything else you can think of! Have fun with it!
If you try our paper airplane engineering activity, share your results with us on the STEAMsational Facebook page! We would love to see your projects in action.
More Engineering Activities for Kids
If you want more engineering activities for kids, check out these fun ideas!
20+ Simple Lego Engineering Challenges Kids Can Do Alone!
Rainbow Salt Circuit Engineering Activity