Parachute Power Kit

Get ready to drop, design, and defy gravity with the Parachute Power Kit—an engaging, hands-on STEM experience for young engineers.

Students will explore how objects like feathers and coins fall at different speeds, then level up by building parachutes and whirlybirds to slow them down. These hands-on experiments introduce key concepts in force and motion, culminating in the classic Egg Drop Challenge. The kit includes a full-color Student Workbook and Teacher Guide, with activities focused on gravity and air resistance.

Part of the Science Unlocked Accelerate series from Home Science Tools, this kit offers over 8 hours of learning about force, motion, and gravity.

Activities include:

• Observing gravity's effect on different objects
• Investigating what make a structure strong during impact
• Building and testing different parachute designs
• Creating a whirlybird
• Exploring how wing size, material weight, and body shape affect flight
• Participating in the Egg Drop Challenge

Key questions students will explore:

• Why do objects fall at different rates?
• What is air resistance and how does it slow things down?
• How can I design a parachute that falls slowly and safely?
• What materials make the best cushion for landing?
• What makes a good engineer?

Recommended for grades 3-7, this kit is designed to spark curiosity and build real STEM skills.

• 10 balloons
• 3 packs of biodegradable packing peanuts
• 1 card stock
• 10 chenille stems
• 5 coffee filters
• 1 coin
• 2 corks
• 3 packs of cotton balls
• 2 pieces drawing paper
• 5 eggs
• 1 feather
• 1 fishing line
• 1 modeling dough
• 1 box of paper clips, small size
• 1 pack of pebbles
• 5 plastic bags
• 1 pack of rubber bands
• 1 ruler
• 1 scale
• 1 pair of scissors
• 10 straws, flexible
• 10 straws, large
• 10 straws, small
• 1 stretchy fabric
• 1 string
• 1 tape, invisible
• 1 tape, masking
• 1 thermal blanket
• 5 pieces of tissue paper
• 1 pack of tongue depressors
• 1 whirlybird template

• NGSS science standards alignment

  • 3-5-ETS1-1: Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.

  • 3-5-ETS1-2: Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

  • 3-5-ETS1-3: Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.