Fly From the Safety of Your Home on Paper Airplane Day
Each year on May 26, we celebrate National Paper Airplane Day at the Federal Aviation Administration. It might seem like there’s a “national day” for just about everything these days, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get young people interested in aviation.
The COVID-19 public health emergency has changed many aspects of daily life, and if you’re a parent to young kids, you’re probably heading into week number who knows of distance learning. Paper Airplane Day is a great excuse to blend physics with fun while you stay safe at home, and the FAA has education resources to help your kids play aeronautical engineer.
The aviation, science, technology, engineering and math (AvSTEM) education team at the FAA developed this virtual lesson for parents and teachers to use with learners of all ages. It can be scaled up or down in difficulty, based on learners’ ages. The lesson starts with discussion questions, guides students through steps to build several types of paper airplane, and concludes with an experiment and analysis.
Ready for more aviation and STEM activities? We’ve got you covered. If your child can’t get enough science, technology, engineering and math, they’ll love the resources available on the FAA’s website at https://www.faa.gov/education/students/. For age-specific activities, visit the links below.
- Elementary Activities (Grades K-4)
- Middle School Activities (Grades 5–8)
- High School Activities (Grades 9–12)
Will you celebrate Paper Airplane Day with us? Post photos of your paper plane on social media for #PaperAirplaneDay and tag us @FAA on Facebook and Instagram, and @FAANews on Twitter.
