Aviation and Space Science Projects

Includes projects dealing with air density, wind, balloons, gliders, spacecraft, and many more aviation and space-related categories.

Grade 5-8-- Nineteen low-tech, student-tested projects that demonstrate the principles of flight. The activities vary in difficulty from blowing over a sheet of paper to see it rise (Bernoulli's principle) to creating a toothpick model of one of the Wright Brothers' gliders, to designing an airport for maximum efficiency. Each begins by referring to a safety checklist, includes an occasionally oversimplified discussion of the relevant scientific and historical background, and is illustrated both with line drawings and small black-and-white photos. Several projects require assembly of commercial kits; for these the makers' printed instructions are reproduced--in English and Spanish in one case. A bilingual glossary; a sample request letter; and a long, useful list of addresses for manufacturers, specialized gift shops, camps, organizations, and teaching resources are appended. Since only one of the six sections is devoted to space and spacecraft, the focus here is on aeronautics; a book such as McKay's Space Science Projects for Young Scientists (Watts, 1986) is a natural companion. --John Peters, New York Pub . Lib .
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