Have you ever tried making a paper airplane? Maybe it didn’t fly very far and just fell to the ground. But what if you could try again with the help of some experts? That’s exactly what happened in a fun challenge called “Kids Vs. Science,” where a team of experts faced off against three creative kids to see who could build the best paper airplane.
First, let’s meet the experts:
Now, let’s meet the kids:
The challenge was simple: each team had one hour to design, create, and test their paper airplanes. They were judged on three things: how far their planes flew, how long they stayed in the air, and how accurately they flew. The goal was to learn about the science and creativity involved in making a great paper airplane.
Leif, the aerodynamics expert, explained that making a paper airplane is all about balance. Adding a little weight to the front of the plane helps it fly better. This is called the center of gravity. If the weight is too far forward or backward, the plane won’t fly well.
Frank, the origami expert, shared some folding tips. He talked about the importance of making precise folds and how different folding techniques, like the “book fold” and “kite fold,” can affect the plane’s performance. He also mentioned that using less paper can help save trees!
After lots of folding and testing, it was time to see whose planes would fly the best. The experts decided to use one design for their planes, while the kids each made their own unique designs. Everyone was excited to see the results!
In the end, Micah’s plane flew the best, winning the challenge for the kids! The experts were impressed by the creativity and skill the kids showed. It was a fun and educational experience for everyone involved.
This challenge showed that making a paper airplane is not just about folding paper. It involves understanding aerodynamics, balance, and creativity. Whether you’re an expert or a kid, there’s always something new to learn and discover.
If you enjoyed this story and want to see more fun challenges, make sure to share your ideas and stay tuned for more exciting episodes!
Use your creativity to design a unique paper airplane. Think about the folding techniques and balance discussed in the article. Once you’ve created your design, test it to see how far it can fly and how long it stays in the air. Share your results with the class!
Try adding different amounts of weight to the front of your paper airplane. Use small paper clips or tape to adjust the weight. Observe how these changes affect the flight of your plane. Record your findings and discuss them with your classmates.
Learn and practice the “book fold” and “kite fold” techniques mentioned by Frank, the origami expert. Create a paper airplane using these techniques and compare its performance with your original design. Which one flies better?
Watch a short video or demonstration about aerodynamics. Discuss how the principles of aerodynamics apply to paper airplanes. Try to incorporate what you learn into improving your paper airplane design.
Organize a class competition to see whose paper airplane can fly the farthest, stay in the air the longest, and fly the most accurately. Use what you’ve learned from the article and your experiments to create the best possible design. Have fun and cheer on your classmates!
Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:
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Three! Two! One! You’ve probably tried to make a paper airplane at some point in your life, and if you’re anything like me, it probably flew about three and a half feet and went straight to the ground. Well, what if you could try again, but as an adult? Even better, what if you had the decades of knowledge of a diverse team of experts?
My name is Andrew Foot, and I’m the president of Paper Outlet here in New York City. I am the paper expert.
My name is Leif, and I am the aerodynamics expert. I am a professor of mathematics at NYU, and I study fluid dynamics, mathematics, and physics.
My name is Frank Ling, I’m the paper folding expert. I work for Taro’s Origami Studio in Brooklyn, and I’ve been doing origami for 22 years.
We’re putting our team of bona fide specialists up against three awesome kids.
My name is Jonah, I’m 10 years old, and when I grow up, I want to be a filmmaker.
My name is Micah, I am 7, and I want to be an astronaut.
My name is Nairobi, I am 10 years old, and I want to be an archaeologist.
We’ll see who can build the best paper airplane, but more than that, we’ll learn about the surprisingly wide breadth of expertise that goes into making a seemingly simple piece of folded paper. This is Kids Vs. Science.
I’ve been studying the aerodynamics of paper airplanes recently to figure out exactly what makes a paper airplane glide stably. My first thought when I heard about making paper airplanes was, you know, something I’ve done many times before.
I have a solid understanding of grain direction and how it would fold, and what stocks would be too heavy, so I’m trying to apply what I know about that to what would make a good paper airplane.
Yes. Part of me wants to say we’ll crush the kids, but I’ve worked with a lot of kids over the years, and some of the stuff they come up with is quite amazing. As adults, we’re less creative and less open-minded. It could go either way.
No, just give me some paper. Each team will be given one hour to plan, create, and test their perfect paper airplanes. They will then be judged on distance, hang time, and accuracy. May the best team win.
I sort of think of this as the base state, just literally a plane made out of paper. A plane, a flat thing, and then what do we have to do to make it fly? I hope I’m doing this right, though I know for a fact that I’m not.
What happens to a plain piece of paper if you drop it in the air? There’s maybe an interesting thing to compare to a paper airplane. I give it a little helping start. That motion is beautiful, but it’s not what you want from an airplane.
It’s all about balance, right? The most basic thing we all do is add a little weight in front. That basic fold in the front is adding a little bit of weight, stabilizing it.
By folding it over in front and not here, you’re having a double layer or even more, right? So your balance point is still forward on this thing. We call that the center of mass or center of gravity.
You can’t just cut a triangle out of paper and have it work, right? No, the folds are what you’re getting. You’re getting a triangle shape, but what you’re getting are these folds that are weighing it down.
So this is what I’ve gotten so far; I’m not done yet. That’s where the center of gravity has to be. If you’re too far in front or too far behind, you don’t get a good flight.
What about your airplane? Where is the balance point? Right about there, it’s a little more than one-third.
Fold it, fold it over, and then fold it in half. What do you recommend? Whatever stock you want. I like the colored stuff; I know that’s not aerodynamically important, but I like the colored stuff.
Pick a color; we have goldenrod, blue, orchid, pink.
Yeah, we were spying on the other team. Don’t let them hear you!
You have all of these layers on top of each other; you start to spread out a little bit up there. That’s what you have to worry about. The only way to combat it is… you’re always going to have a little bit of it, but as you fold everything over, make sure that you tuck in as best you can.
I saw that their airplanes are really tiny. So that the weight wouldn’t be too much!
You’re folding all of them over on each other; they’ll start to fan out. You can see it here.
Yeah, mine were failures.
No, I wouldn’t call it a failure. It’s just the way paper behaves, right? It’s a material that has thickness to it; it’s going to behave differently than a perfect flat plane.
Yeah, but if you use less paper, they’ll cut down less trees, which will save our lungs.
In origami, you call this a book fold; it’s just edge to edge. So bring the long edges together. You could use both your hands. Really make sure it’s lined up first.
Then we call it a kite fold; it’s when you’re basically folding at a 45-degree angle off of the angle bisector. It’s never going to exactly line up. With all your folds, if you’re getting like 95% there, you’re going to be fine.
Just throw that out, please. If this is folded and unfolded too many times, it’s just going to flop open. Those fibers are going to become weaker and weaker.
Yeah, you’re breaking fibers with your finger; you’re cracking them. There’s a certain point where you’re not going to get the plane that you want.
Three, two, one.
I think we’re all set! Ready to go!
The experts decided to all use one design for their individual airplanes, while the kids each made their own different planes for distance, hang time, and accuracy.
I’m going first? Okay. I’m going first. And I can bend over this a little bit?
I call interference!
Okay, ready? Ahh, it went down!
Ready? Three! Two! One!
Micah won! Micah won! Micah!
Everybody’s going to count, three, two, one, go, alright? Here we go! Three! Two! One! Go!
They won. Well done.
Wait, we won? We won?
Congratulations, well done. Good game, good game.
I kept walking into your room, going under your table and spying on you.
I saw that! Did you see it all the time?
Yeah! Every single time.
Our best strategy we used was YouTube.
Folding tips? Well, isn’t origami all about patience?
Well, yeah, that’s part of it, right? It’s really about taking your time; don’t rush whatever you’re doing. Whenever you work with paper, always take your time.
This is my advice: have someone guarding the door at all times.
You actually have the right instinct here; this is a good, basic, 70-pound… Wait, it’s 70 pounds??
I’ll do the first fold, making sure everything’s lined up first. I’m holding it down. So what’s the next step?
Good job; make sure you crease it all the way up, especially to the tip.
Micah, are you ready?
Hey guys, I’m Justin. I had so much fun producing this video, the first in a new series. If you liked it and want to see more episodes just like this, make sure to comment below.
And if you have any ideas for fun activities we can have kids and experts go head-to-head on, make sure to throw those in the comments too.
Like and subscribe to stay up-to-date with all things Mental Floss.
Thanks for watching.
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This version removes any informal language, potential distractions, and maintains a focus on the content.
Paper – A thin material made from wood pulp, used for writing, drawing, or folding. – We used paper to make models of different geometric shapes in math class.
Airplane – A vehicle with wings that flies through the air, often used to study principles of flight in physics. – In our science project, we built a small paper airplane to learn about how things fly.
Aerodynamics – The study of how air moves around things, which helps us understand how planes fly. – We learned about aerodynamics by observing how different shapes of paper airplanes fly.
Gravity – The force that pulls objects toward the center of the Earth. – Gravity is the reason why the paper airplane eventually falls to the ground.
Balance – When all parts of something are equal or in the correct proportions, important for stability. – To make the paper airplane fly straight, we had to make sure it was balanced.
Folding – The action of bending paper to create shapes or designs, often used in making paper airplanes. – Folding the paper correctly is crucial to making a good paper airplane.
Techniques – Methods or skills needed to accomplish a task, such as making a paper airplane fly well. – We learned different techniques to improve the flight of our paper airplanes.
Creativity – The use of imagination to create something new or original, like designing a unique paper airplane. – Using creativity, we designed a paper airplane that could do loops in the air.
Design – The plan or drawing produced to show the look and function of an object before it is made. – Our design for the paper airplane included wings that were longer than usual.
Performance – How well something functions or operates, such as how far or fast a paper airplane flies. – We tested the performance of our paper airplane by measuring how far it could fly.
