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Try it at home: 150 science activities from Book 23

Every question in A Million Whys Book 23, The Flight Expedition, ends with a "Think like a scientist" idea. Here they are in one place. Each one links to its question page, with the video and the full answer.

Safety first. A grown-up should be nearby for every activity, and must do any cutting, cooking, heating or anything with the stove, kettle, hot water or electricity. Never look straight at the Sun. Be gentle with animals and let them decide. Do not taste anything that is spoiled or not food. Activities marked "Do this with a grown-up" need one helping, not just watching.

Expedition 1: The Four Forces of Flight (25)

1. What Are the Four Forces of Flight?

Draw a paper plane and add four arrows around it. Label them lift, weight, thrust, and drag.

Watch the video and read the answer →

2. What Is Lift, and Where Does It Come From?

At a sink, with a grown-up, turn on a thin stream of water. Gently touch the back of a spoon to the side of the stream and feel it get pulled in. Moving fluid creates forces on a curved shape, a bit like air on a wing.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

3. How Does the Shape of a Wing Help It Climb?

Cut a wing shape from cardboard and fold it into a curve. Gently glide it through the air and compare it with a flat piece. Ask a grown-up to help with cutting, and use blunt scissors.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

4. What Is Thrust, and How Do Planes Get It?

Blow up a balloon and let it go outdoors. Which direction does it go compared with the air coming out?

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

5. What Is Drag, the Force That Slows Things Down?

Crumple one sheet of paper into a ball and leave another sheet flat. Drop both from the same height and watch which one falls slower.

Watch the video and read the answer →

6. How Does Weight Pull on Every Flyer?

Weigh a sheet of paper and a paper ball with a kitchen scale. Do they weigh the same? Then drop both.

Watch the video and read the answer →

7. What Is the Angle of Attack?

Fly a stiff paper plane with its nose tilted slightly up, then slightly down. Which way gives the longest flight? Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

8. What Is a Stall, and How Do Pilots Handle It?

Throw a paper plane with its nose pointing sharply up. Watch how it loses its glide and tips forward. Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

9. Why Do Planes Need to Go Fast Before They Can Take Off?

Run with a sheet of paper held flat in front of you. Does it lift more when you run faster?

Watch the video and read the answer →

10. Why Do Airplanes Take Off Facing Into the Wind?

Fly a paper plane gently with the wind and then into the wind. Which launch looks steadier? Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

11. Does a Wing Really Push Air Downward to Go Up?

Hold a hand fan close to a piece of tissue paper on the table. Which way does the paper move?

Watch the video and read the answer →

12. How Are Lift and Weight Balanced in Level Flight?

Balance a ruler on your finger. When you add a coin to one side, what must change to keep it level?

Watch the video and read the answer →

13. What Happens to the Four Forces During Takeoff, Cruising, and Landing?

Draw three small planes for takeoff, cruising, and landing. On each, make the arrows longer or shorter to show the forces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

14. How Do Ailerons Help a Plane Roll and Turn?

Cut small flaps in the back of a paper plane's wings. Bend one up and one down, then toss it and watch it roll. Ask a grown-up to help with cutting, and use blunt scissors. Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

15. What Do the Rudder and Elevator at the Tail Do?

Bend the back edge of a paper plane's tail up slightly. Toss it and notice how the nose rises. Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

16. What Are Pitch, Roll, and Yaw?

Hold a pencil like a plane and demonstrate pitch, roll, and yaw. Say each name as you move it.

Watch the video and read the answer →

17. Why Does a Plane Tilt to the Side When It Turns?

Lean as you walk in a circle. Why do you need to lean toward the middle of the circle?

Watch the video and read the answer →

18. Why Do Some Planes Have Curved-Up Wingtips?

Bend up the ends of a paper plane's wings. Does it glide differently from the flat version? Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

19. Why Do Big, Heavy Flyers Need Big Wings?

Make two paper planes from the same type of paper, one with large wings and one with small wings. Compare how slowly they float. Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

20. Can a Plane Fly Upside Down?

Fly a paper plane with a flat wing. Throw it upside down gently. Does it still glide for a bit? Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

21. Why Do Jets Cruise So High Up Where the Air Is Thin?

Look up at a high contrail on a clear day. Estimate which direction the plane is going.

Watch the video and read the answer →

22. How Do Wind Tunnels Help Engineers Test Wings?

With a grown-up, set a fan on low. Tape a ribbon to a stick and hold it in the breeze. Watch how it flutters in smooth and bumpy air.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

23. Why Do Airplane Wings Bend Upward in Flight?

Bend a plastic ruler gently with your hands. It flexes and then springs back, just like a wing.

Watch the video and read the answer →

24. What Did the Wright Brothers Discover About Flight?

Measure 120 feet outside, using big steps. Imagine that was the length of the very first flight.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

25. How Do the Four Forces Explain a Bird, a Plane, and a Kite?

Pick a bird, a plane, and a kite. For each, write where its lift and thrust come from.

Watch the video and read the answer →

Expedition 2: Nature’s Flying Machines (25)

26. How Do Feathers Turn a Bird's Wing Into a Flying Machine?

Look at a feather with a magnifying glass. Gently brush it the wrong way, then smooth it again. What do you notice?

Watch the video and read the answer →

27. Why Do Some Birds Flap Constantly While Others Soar?

Watch birds at a park for ten minutes. Make two lists. One for birds that flap a lot and one for birds that glide. Notice what their wings are like. Share your results with someone you love.

Watch the video and read the answer →

28. How Do Light, Hollow Bones Help Birds Fly?

Compare a drinking straw with a solid pencil of the same length. Which is lighter? Which is easier to bend?

Watch the video and read the answer →

29. How Do Birds Land So Gracefully?

Throw a paper plane normally, then add a small paper tail flap bent up. How does the landing change? Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

30. What Do a Bird's Tail Feathers Do in the Air?

Cut a paper bird and bend its tail up, down, and sideways while gliding it. Notice how it steers. Ask a grown-up to help with cutting, and use blunt scissors. Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

31. How Does a Heavy Swan Get Off the Water and Into the Air?

With a grown-up, stay back from the water’s edge and watch ducks or geese at a pond. Notice how much of a run they need before takeoff. Do not feed or touch the birds.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

32. What Is a Thermal, and How Do Hawks Ride One?

On a warm, sunny day, watch for birds circling high in the sky. Do they flap or just glide? Draw their path.

Watch the video and read the answer →

33. How Can an Albatross Cross an Ocean with Hardly Any Flapping?

Draw a wavy path above ocean waves. Mark where the wind is stronger and where an albatross would gain speed.

Watch the video and read the answer →

34. Why Can Ostriches and Penguins Not Fly?

Draw a penguin, an ostrich, and an eagle. Next to each, write how it moves.

Watch the video and read the answer →

35. How Can an Insect Beat Its Wings Hundreds of Times Each Second?

Listen to a bee's buzz outdoors from a distance. Try to hum the same pitch. A faster flap makes a higher buzz.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

36. How Does an Insect's Chest Work Like a Wing-Wiggling Box?

Press the sides of a squishy plastic container and watch the lid wobble. That is a bit like an insect's chest moving its wings.

Watch the video and read the answer →

37. How Do Bumblebees Fly When People Once Said They Could Not?

Move your hand through the water in a bathtub or basin, flicking it at the end. See the swirls you make. Wings swirl air in a similar way.

Watch the video and read the answer →

38. How Is a Bat's Wing Different From a Bird's Wing?

Spread your fingers and imagine skin stretched between them. Draw what a bat's hand-wing would look like.

Watch the video and read the answer →

39. What Is the Difference Between Flying and Gliding for an Animal?

Toss a paper plane and a flapping paper bird (a toy) and compare which can climb, and which only slides down. Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

40. Can Snakes and Frogs Glide Through the Air?

Flatten a piece of dough or paper into a ribbon. Try to glide it down. Does it fall slower than when it is rolled up? Wash your hands after touching dough. Keep asking why, and keep exploring!

Watch the video and read the answer →

41. How Do Dandelion Seeds Sail on a Breath of Wind?

Blow gently on a dandelion seed head outdoors. Watch how the seeds float and where they go.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

42. How Do Baby Birds Learn to Fly?

Watch a nest or feeder from a distance. Record how young birds move and flap their wings.

Watch the video and read the answer →

43. Can Any Bird Sleep While Flying?

Draw a frigatebird flying over the ocean. Add a thought bubble showing what it might dream about.

Watch the video and read the answer →

44. How Does a Feather Stay Light, Strong, and Smooth?

Gently pull apart a feather's vane with your fingers and smooth it back together. You are zipping the barbs.

Watch the video and read the answer →

45. How Far Can a Bird Fly Without Stopping?

Use a map or globe and a string to measure 8,000 miles. Pick two far-apart places that are about that far.

Watch the video and read the answer →

46. How Do Birds Change the Shape of Their Wings?

Hold your arms like wings and show a bird speeding up, slowing down, and turning.

Watch the video and read the answer →

47. Why Do Some Birds Have Long, Pointed Wings and Others Short, Round Ones?

Sort pictures of five birds into groups by wing shape, then guess how each one flies.

Watch the video and read the answer →

48. How Do Baby Spiders Fly on Silk Threads?

Draw a tiny spider floating up on a silk thread. Add arrows showing the wind lifting it.

Watch the video and read the answer →

49. Why Can't People Fly by Flapping Wings Tied to Their Arms?

Try flapping your arms for one minute. How tired do they get? Think about how birds do it for hours.

Watch the video and read the answer →

50. What Can Engineers Learn From Flying Animals?

Choose a flying animal and sketch a machine inspired by it. What would you call it?

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Expedition 3: Inside an Airplane (25)

51. How Does a Jet Engine Work?

Say "suck, squeeze, bang, blow" while acting out each step with your hands. Teach it to a friend.

Watch the video and read the answer →

52. What Does the Huge Fan at the Front of a Jet Engine Do?

Look at the front of a jet engine on a photo. Count the fan blades. Why do you think the engine is shaped like a tube?

Watch the video and read the answer →

53. What Do All the Dials in a Cockpit Tell the Pilots?

Draw your own cockpit. Add four dials and label what each one tells the pilot.

Watch the video and read the answer →

54. How Does an Altimeter Know How High a Plane Is?

With a grown-up, check a weather app that shows air pressure. Look at it each day for a week. See how it changes. Write the numbers down. Tell a grown-up what you discover!

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

55. How Does a Plane Know How Fast the Air Is Flowing Past It?

Hold a flat piece of cardboard in front of a fan on low, then on high. Feel how the push of moving air grows with speed.

Watch the video and read the answer →

56. What Is an Artificial Horizon, and Why Do Pilots Need It?

With a grown-up holding a bicycle wheel by its axle, spin the wheel and try to tilt it. Keep fingers out of the spokes. Notice how it resists.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

57. What Does an Autopilot Do?

Try walking in a straight line with your eyes on a spot far away. A computer does the same with a set course.

Watch the video and read the answer →

58. Why Do Planes Fold Their Wheels Up After Takeoff?

Push your hand through water in a basin edge-first, then palm-first. Which feels like more drag?

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59. Why Is the "Black Box" on an Airplane Actually Orange?

Make a list of things that are bright orange and why people paint them that way, like safety vests and cones.

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60. What Makes the White Trails That Jets Leave Behind?

Look for contrails on a clear day. Note whether they are short or long. What might that tell you about the air?

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61. Why Do Airplane Windows Have Round Corners and a Tiny Hole?

Draw a window with square corners and one with round corners. Mark where you think stress would gather.

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62. How Does a Plane Keep the Air Comfortable at 35,000 Feet?

Draw the cabin as a strong tube with air flowing in from the engines and out through a valve.

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63. What Is Turbulence, and Why Does It Happen?

Shake a glass of water gently on a table. The ripples are like bumps in the air.

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64. Why Do Flight Attendants Ask for Tray Tables and Seats to Be Upright?

Make a list of three safety rules at home or school and say why each one matters.

Watch the video and read the answer →

65. Why Are Most Airplanes Painted White?

Put a white sheet of paper and a sheet of shiny foil in the sun. Which one is warmer after ten minutes? Feel them gently.

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66. What Are the Panels That Pop Up on the Wings After Landing?

Lift a paper plane's wing flap up like a spoiler. Does the glide get shorter? Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

67. How Do Airplanes Slow Down So Fast After They Land?

Roll a toy car down a ramp and see how far it goes. Add a patch of sandpaper to slow it and compare.

Watch the video and read the answer →

68. What Is an Airplane Made Of?

Compare a sheet of aluminum foil, a piece of cardboard, and a piece of plastic. Which is strongest for its weight?

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69. How Many Parts Does a Jumbo Jet Have?

Count how many parts are in a toy that you have, like building blocks. How many would you need to make a jumbo jet?

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70. How Do Planes Get Cleared of Ice in Winter?

With a grown-up, put an ice cube on a plate and spray it with warm water. Watch how much faster it melts than one left alone. Airport crews spray warm fluid on ice, too.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

71. What Happens When Lightning Strikes an Airplane?

Draw a plane with arrows showing electricity flowing along the outside of its skin and out the tail.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

72. Where Does an Airplane Carry Its Fuel?

Fill a pitcher with water and notice how heavy it is. Imagine how much fuel a jumbo jet carries.

Watch the video and read the answer →

73. Where Do Suitcases and Cargo Ride on an Airplane?

Draw the inside of an airplane in cross-section. Show the cabin above and the cargo hold below.

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74. How Can a Plane Land Safely in Thick Fog?

In an empty room with no steps, with a grown-up watching, close your eyes while a friend walks beside you, holding your hand and giving clear directions. See how clear directions help.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

75. How Can a Floatplane Take Off From a Lake?

Float a plastic toy boat in a sink. Push it faster by blowing on it. Notice how it skims the water.

Watch the video and read the answer →

Expedition 4: Balloons, Helicopters & Gliders (25)

76. What Makes a Helium Balloon Float Up While a Regular Balloon Sinks?

Compare a party balloon filled with air to one filled with helium (a grown-up should fill it). Watch which one floats and which one falls.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

77. Why Does Helium Change the Sound of a Voice?

Fill a water glass part way and tap it. Add more water and tap again. Notice how the pitch changes. That is sound changing with what is in the glass. Then tell a friend what you found out.

Watch the video and read the answer →

78. What Do the Burner and the Top Vent Do During a Balloon Ride?

Watch (don't touch) a video of a hot air balloon launch and write down what the pilot does at each step.

Watch the video and read the answer →

79. How Can a Balloonist Pick a Direction Without a Steering Wheel?

Draw two layers of arrows in the sky, one pointing left and one right. Show where a balloon should be to go left.

Watch the video and read the answer →

80. When Did People First Fly in a Balloon?

Draw the balloon from 1783 and decorate it as you like. Add a basket and the crowds on the ground.

Watch the video and read the answer →

81. What Makes a Blimp Different From a Drifting Balloon?

Draw a blimp and a hot air balloon side by side. Label the parts that are different.

Watch the video and read the answer →

82. Why Do Airships Use Helium Instead of Hydrogen?

Make a pros and cons list for hydrogen and helium. Which one would you use to fill an airship?

Watch the video and read the answer →

83. Why Does a Weather Balloon Swell as It Rises, and Then Pop?

Draw a small balloon at the ground. Draw a huge one high in the sky. Add arrows to show the gas pushing out. Label the thin air up high. Then tell a friend what you found out.

Watch the video and read the answer →

84. How Do the Spinning Blades of a Helicopter Make Lift?

Cut a paper spinner with two angled wings, drop it, and watch it twirl down. The wings act like rotors. Ask a grown-up to help with cutting, and use blunt scissors.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

85. Why Does a Helicopter Have a Little Propeller on Its Tail?

Sit on a swivel chair with a grown-up nearby and swing your arms in a big circle. Which way does the chair turn? Stop if you feel dizzy.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

86. How Does a Helicopter Lean to Fly Forward?

Draw a helicopter with its rotor disk tilted forward. Add arrows for lift and for the push that moves it ahead.

Watch the video and read the answer →

87. Why Can a Helicopter Fly Sideways and Backward?

Move around the room like a helicopter. Go forward, backward, and sideways. Then move like a plane. Compare how they feel. Share your results with someone you love.

Watch the video and read the answer →

88. What Happens If a Helicopter's Engine Stops?

Fold a paper strip into a little spinner, drop it, and watch it spin down slowly like a maple seed.

Watch the video and read the answer →

89. What Jobs Do Helicopters Do?

Make a list of three jobs a helicopter can do better than an airplane and say why.

Watch the video and read the answer →

90. How Do Paragliders Stay Up in the Air?

Watch a video of paraglider launches. Note how the pilot faces the wind. Never try paragliding without a trained instructor.

Watch the video and read the answer →

91. How Can a Sailplane Glide for Hundreds of Miles?

Make a long-winged paper glider and a short-winged one. Launch each gently. Which one goes farther? Measure with a ruler. Write down what you notice, and share it with a grown-up.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

92. What Is a Glide Ratio?

Throw a paper plane from a table 3 feet high. Measure how far it goes, then divide that distance by 3 to get its glide ratio.

Watch the video and read the answer →

93. How Does a Boomerang Come Back?

With a grown-up, make a paper boomerang from stiff cardstock with three arms. Flick it gently in an open space.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

94. What Is the Difference Between Lighter-Than-Air and Heavier-Than-Air Flight?

Sort a list of flying things into two groups: lighter than air and heavier than air.

Watch the video and read the answer →

95. What Are Electric Air Taxis?

Draw your idea of an air taxi. Add the rotors and a place for passengers.

Watch the video and read the answer →

96. Can a Plane Fly Using Only Sunshine?

Draw a plane covered with solar panels. Add a battery and show how it works at night.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

97. How Do Stunt Pilots Do Loops and Rolls?

Hold a toy plane and show a loop and a roll with your hand. Never try stunts in a real plane without training.

Watch the video and read the answer →

98. How Do Firefighting Planes Scoop Up Water From a Lake?

Estimate how many buckets from your kitchen equal 1,500 gallons. How many trips would it take?

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99. Can a Plane Fly on Human Leg Power?

Make a super-light paper glider using the smallest possible sheet. How does the weight change its flight?

Watch the video and read the answer →

100. How Do Bush Planes Land on Short, Bumpy Strips?

On a map of Canada, find three remote places that might need a bush plane.

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Expedition 5: Pilots, Airports & Sky Travel (25)

101. How Do People Learn to Become Pilots?

Write a list of five things a pilot must know, such as weather, maps, radio, and checklists. Rank them by importance.

Watch the video and read the answer →

102. What Is a Flight Simulator?

Try a flight game on a safe computer or tablet. Notice how the horizon tilts when you turn.

Watch the video and read the answer →

103. What Do Pilots Check Before They Take Off?

Make a checklist for packing your school bag. Check off each item to make sure nothing is forgotten.

Watch the video and read the answer →

104. Why Do Airports Scan Bags with X-Rays?

Look at a picture of an X-ray of a hand. Notice how bones look different from the soft parts around them.

Watch the video and read the answer →

105. Why Do Pilots Say "Alpha, Bravo, Charlie" When They Talk on the Radio?

Spell your name using the phonetic alphabet, such as Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie. Teach it to a friend.

Watch the video and read the answer →

106. What Does an Air Traffic Controller Do?

Place toy cars on a table and act as a controller. Tell each car when to move so they never touch.

Watch the video and read the answer →

107. Why Does an Airport Have a Tall Control Tower?

Stand on a high place, such as a hill or staircase, and notice how much more you can see than from the ground.

Watch the video and read the answer →

108. How Do Planes Stay Safely Apart in a Crowded Sky?

Draw a stack of lanes in the sky at different heights. Use arrows to show planes flying east and west.

Watch the video and read the answer →

109. How Does Radar See Airplanes?

In a gym, a hallway, or a pedestrian underpass, with a grown-up, shout and listen to the echo. Radar uses radio echoes in the same way.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

110. How Do Pilots Find Their Way Across an Ocean?

Use a map and a ruler to plot a route between two cities and measure how far it is.

Watch the video and read the answer →

111. Why Do Flight Paths Look Curved on a Flat Map?

Use a string and a globe to find the shortest path between Toronto and Tokyo. Does it go where you expected?

Watch the video and read the answer →

112. Why Do Runways Have Numbers?

With a compass, find the direction of a street near you. Calculate what runway number it would have.

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113. What Do the Lines and Lights on a Runway Mean?

Draw a runway with the markings you know. Add the number and the center line.

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115. Why Does a Tug Push an Airplane Away From the Gate?

Push a toy plane backward with a small toy tractor. Then ask why this is easier than turning around.

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116. How Long Does It Take to Get a Plane Ready Between Flights?

Make a list of the order of steps to get a plane ready. Time yourself getting ready for school the same way.

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117. Why Does a Flight From Toronto to London Take Less Time than the Trip Back?

Hold a big piece of cardboard in front of you and walk across a room with a fan blowing from in front, then from behind. A grown-up sets up the fan. Which way is easier?

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

118. What Is Jet Lag?

With a world map, count how many hours' difference there is between your home and a faraway city.

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119. How Far Can You See From a Plane Window?

Draw what you think the view would look like from a plane window. Include the clouds and the curve of the horizon.

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120. How Many Planes Are in the Sky at Once?

With a grown-up, look at a flight tracker and find a plane flying over your area. Where is it heading?

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

121. How Do Airports Keep Birds Away From Runways?

Draw a plan for a bird-friendly place near an airport, but far from runways, where birds can feed and nest.

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122. Why Does a Puff of Smoke Appear When a Plane Lands?

Rub an eraser quickly on paper. See the little bits of rubber it leaves. Landing tires do the same on the runway.

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123. What Are Some of the Biggest Airplanes Ever Built?

Measure 385 feet outside with your steps. Compare it to a football field.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

124. How Did Concorde Cross the Atlantic in About Three Hours?

Compare the speed of Concorde, a jet, a car, and a bicycle on a chart. Which line is the longest?

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125. How Are New Airplanes Tested Before They Carry People?

Think of a toy you made. Describe three tests you would do to make sure it works well.

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Expedition 6: Make It Fly, Fly It Safe (25)

126. Which Paper Plane Designs Fly the Farthest, and Why?

Fold one dart and one glider from the same size of paper. Test each one three times and record the distance. Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

127. How Do You Test a Paper Plane Fairly?

Pick one thing to test, such as a paper clip on the nose. Throw each plane five times and calculate the average. Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

128. What Happens When You Put a Paper Clip on the Tail of a Plane?

Make a paper plane that glides well. Add one paper clip to the nose and test it three times. Then move the clip to the tail and test it three times. Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

129. Why Do Paper Planes Fly Steadier When Their Wings Tilt Up Into a Shallow V?

Make two paper planes. Fold the wings of one flat and tilt the wings of the other into a shallow V. Test each three times. Which flies straighter? Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

130. How Can Small Bends in the Back of the Wings Stop a Plane From Diving?

Fold a paper plane that dives. Try bending its back edges up a little, and see if it flies better. Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

131. Why Does a Paper Helicopter Spin as It Falls?

With a grown-up, make a paper helicopter from a strip with two folded flaps. Drop it from a low staircase landing, with the stairs clear of people, and time the fall.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

132. Do Bigger Wings Always Fly Better?

Make two gliders with the same paper, one with long thin wings and one with short wide wings. Which one flies farther? Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

Watch the video and read the answer →

133. What Do the Tail and String of a Kite Do?

Fly a kite with a short tail and then a long tail. See which one is steadier.

Watch the video and read the answer →

134. Where Is It Safe to Fly a Kite?

Walk around a nearby park and choose the best kite flying spot. Make a list of reasons why it's safe.

Watch the video and read the answer →

135. What Makes a Diamond Kite Fly Well?

Build a small diamond kite with a grown-up using two sticks, paper, and tape. Add a tail and test it.

Do this with a grown-up

Watch the video and read the answer →

136. What Is Special About a Box Kite?

Draw a box kite and label its cells and its line. Why might two boxes be steadier than one flat kite?

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137. How Do Stunt Kites Use Two Strings to Steer?

Hold two strings on a toy plane or paper kite. Practice turning by pulling one string at a time.

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138. How Can a Twisted Rubber Band Power a Tiny Airplane?

Wind up a toy with a rubber band and watch it unwind. How many turns does it make before it stops?

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139. How Can You Tell Which Way the Wind Is Blowing?

Tie a light ribbon to a stick. Go outside and see which way it points. Mark the direction on a compass.

Do this with a grown-up

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140. Why Does a Feather Fall More Slowly than a Coin?

Drop a flat sheet of paper and a paper ball from the same height. Which lands first? Why?

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141. Why Do Phones Need Airplane Mode on a Plane?

Turn on airplane mode on a grown-up's phone and notice which things stop working.

Do this with a grown-up

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142. Why Must Everyone Stay Far From a Spinning Propeller or a Running Jet Engine?

Look at a picture of a plane with painted danger zones near the engines. Mark the areas that should be avoided.

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143. Why Is Flying One of the Safest Ways to Travel?

Make a list of safety rules for your home or school. Which ones are like the layers of safety in aviation?

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144. What Jobs Help Planes Fly Besides Pilots?

Interview a family member about their job. Which part of their job is like teamwork in an airport?

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145. How Do Mechanics Keep Planes in Top Shape?

Make a maintenance checklist for your bike. Include tires, brakes, chain, and lights.

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146. Can a Balloon on a String Show How Thrust Works?

With a grown-up, tape a small battery fan with soft blades to a toy car. Point the blades so they blow air backward. Switch it on and watch the car roll. Always keep your fingers away from the spinning blades. Share what you discover with a grown-up.

Do this with a grown-up

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147. How Can You Graph the Results of Your Flight Tests?

Test three paper planes and draw a bar graph of the distances they flew.

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148. Why Can a Ring-Shaped Straw Glider Fly?

Make a ring glider from two paper strips and a straw. Try moving the rings closer together or farther apart. Throw away from people and pets, and never at faces.

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149. Which Sky Puzzles Are Engineers Still Working On?

Think of one problem in flying and sketch a solution. Give your invention a name.

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150. What Should Every Young Pilot-In-Training Remember About Flight?

Write your own flight rule, such as "Wings need moving air." Share it with a friend.

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