Blast off and have some fun with flight!
Kids love to catapult things into the air — and as long as it’s not their dinner or a small household pet, there are many great benefits.
Playing ball or frisbee for the little ones is good for teaching cause and effect and hand/eye coordination. And for the older ones, learning about flight and gravity can be fun and fascinating.
You can start with something as simple as making paper airplanes. The kids can experiment with designs and measure the distances they achieve with their creations.
Do they fly farther when made with a lighter-weight paper or cardstock? Are they immediately plunging to the ground and need adjustment (like a paper clip on the tail), are they staying in midair for a long period of time, do they veer to one side or another – and why?
Let the kids practice trial and error in their designs. They can measure the distance their plane flies by feet or by seconds in the air. Older kids can research aerodynamics in books or online and even make a graph of their findings!
Is space more up your child’s alley? Try a simple homemade rocket ship.
For younger kids, have them draw and color a rocket ship on a medium-weight paper (like construction paper). Taking two straws, one that has a wider opening than the other, tape one end of the wider straw closed and tape it to the back of the rocket. Slide the other straw inside that one and tell the kids to take a deep breath. They can blow into the straw and watch how far their rockets go!
Older kids can make a simple rocket out of antacid tablets (like Alka Seltzer) and a small container with a lid (plastic film containers or something of a similar size work well). Fill the container about two-thirds full with water, drop in a half a tablet, and quickly put the lid on. Turn the container over, lid side down, and soon your little rocket will blast off! (Make sure kids stand back – even though these are small and lightweight, it’s better to be safe than sorry.)
The kids will have plenty of fun experimenting with designs to make their planes and rockets go higher and faster, and it will keep them occupied and engaged.