Up, Up, and Away!
Aviation Activities!

Ready, set, take off! For thousands of years, people have been fascinated with flying. This week, Education World offers a cargo of lessons about aviation that are just "plane" fun! Included: Lessons in which students complete experiments about air flight, design model airplanes, and do much more!

ANSWERS 1. Charles Lindbergh 2. Amelia Earhart 3. Hindenburg 4. Igor Sikorsky 5. Ellen Church of Cresco, Iowa

May is associated with several notable aviation-related events. Do you know the answers to these questions?

1. Who became the first person to fly nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20 to 21, 1927?
2. Who became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20, 1932?
3. What airship exploded on May 6, 1937?
4. What pioneer in the development of the helicopter was born on May 25, 1889?
5. Who made history as the first flight attendant on May 15, 1930?

Students will learn the answers to those questions and more with five lessons from Education World! Below, read the brief descriptions for each lesson. Click any headline for a complete teaching resource!

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• Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame
  Students write short biographies about pioneers in aviation.
  (Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)

• Wind and Wings
  Students participate in simple hands-on activities that demonstrate Daniel Bernoulli's principle of air pressure and air flight. (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8)

• Aviation Firsts Scavenger Hunt
  Students use online or library sources to complete a scavenger hunt about fascinating aviation firsts. (Grades3-5, 6-8, 9-12)

• Those Magnificent Flying Machines: Past, Present and Future
  Students create displays showing types of aircrafts that might include airplanes, helicopters, balloons, blimps, and rockets. (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)

• Design a Paper Airplane
  Students study examples of paper airplanes and then create their own paper airplane models. (Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Education: Fun Activities for Students
  This page from the NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Administration) Web site provides links to several educational games and activities.
• What Makes Airplanes Fly? History, Science and Applications of Aerodynamics
  This site provides a collection of aviation-related curriculum units created by teachers who participated in the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute at Yale University.
• How Things Fly: Resource Center
  This page from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Web site provides aviation-related sciences activities and reading lists.
• FAA Aviation Education Resource Library
  This page from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Web site provides a host of education-related links about aviation, including curriculum guides, activities for students, and scholarship and grant information.
• Flight School
  This site provides hands-on activities to teach students about aerodynamics.
• K-12 TLC Guide to Aviation
  This site provides a long list of education resources related to aviation.