Airplanes: Explore, Build, Design Kit

Discover the fascinating science of flight with the Airplanes: Explore, Build, Design Kit—an immersive, hands-on STEM experience for aspiring aeronautical engineers.

Students will explore the power of air pressure, build and test paper and foam aircraft models, and apply the engineering design process to create their own flying machines. Through engaging experiments, they'll learn about the fundamental forces of flight—thrust, lift, weight, and drag—while picking up key aeronautical terms and piloting concepts.

The kit includes a full-color Student Workbook and a comprehensive Teacher Guide, with activities focused on flight science and aircraft design.

This Accelerate-level kit offers over 13 hours of learning, diving deep into aeronautics, engineering principles, and the science behind how things fly.

Hands-on activities include:

• Using Bernoulli's principle to inflate a bag with a single breath
• Creating and testing different paper airplane designs
• Building foam aircraft models with working control surfaces
• Applying the engineering design process to design original aircraft
• Experimenting with flight forces in action

Key questions students will explore:

• How do airplanes generate lift and stay airborne?
• How do engineers and physicists talk about forces?
• What forces act on aircraft during flight?
• How do pilots control aircraft attitude and direction?
• What is the engineering design process and how is it applied?

Recommended for grades 3-7, this kit is part of the Science Unlocked Accelerate series—designed to spark curiosity and build real STEM skills.

What's included:

• Binder clips, large
• Binder clip, small
• Foam boards
• Forceps
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks
• Inflatable bag
• Ruler
• Safety scalpel
• Sandpaper
• Student Workbook
• Tape
• Teacher Guide
• Templates
  • Dart paper airplane
  • Square paper airplane
  • Sky shrimp foam airplane
  • Wind whale foam airplane

• NGSS science standards alignment

  • MS-ETS1-1: Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions

  • MS-ETS1-2: Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem

  • MS-ETS1-3: Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of ech that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success

  • MS-ETS1-4: Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved