Museum of Science
Parachute Design
Deploy an activity that requires deploying a parachute. An engaging lesson challenges learners to design and construct parachutes. They test out their creations and consider what changes should be made to improve the parachute's...
NASA
Parachute Design
Bring the science of space exploration to the classroom. Young learners explore the mechanics of the parachute-landing mechanisms on the Mars Rover. They design and build their own parachute models and test their ability to land a probe...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Playing with Parachutes
This lesson certainly will not be a drag! Little engineers design parachutes that make use of air resistance and, as a result, slow the descent of the payload as much as possible. It is an opportunity to teach about many motion concepts:...
Curated OER
The Parachute
Students discuss parachutes and write a procedure to determine the effect of different size parachutes and different masses on the time it takes the masses to fall. They record all their data from their experiment then write three...
Mascil Project
Parachute Food Drop
Drop a perfect project into your lesson plans. Groups use different building materials to create models of parachutes for food drops. After testing out their prototypes, they make improvements to their designs.
Curated OER
Parachutes
Students make and observe the flight of simple parachutes. In this parachute lesson, students listen to Henry M. Holden's, Fire-Fighting Aircraft and Smoke Jumpers. They make parachutes out of plastic bags, tape, and strings before...
Curated OER
The Invention of the Parachute
Students study the invention of the parachute and how Leonardo da Vinci came up with the design. In this aerodynamics instructional activity students test the properties that make parachutes more efficient.
Curated OER
Design a Parachute
Students engage in a discussion about what a parachute is and how it works. They create a parachute using different materials that they think will work best. The students test their designs, which will be followed by a class discussion...
Curated OER
Building a Parachute
Fourth graders construct a parachute using specified materials in a set amount of time. They observe a toy parachute attached to a toy man and discuss what makes him move slower or faster. Then in small groups they design, construct,...
Curated OER
Parachutes: What a Drag
Sixth graders make 2 different kinds of parachutes and record and graph the time for each one for the different drag forces. In this parachute lesson plan, 6th graders compare the results to the rest of the class of each parachute and...
Curated OER
Parachutes: What Affects a Parachute
Students create a simple paper parachute. In this parachute design lesson, students examine the effects of the wind and make napkin parachutes.
Health Smart Virginia
Parachute Stress
Stress isn't necessarily a bad thing. The key, however, is learning how to appreciate eustress and manage distress. "Parachute Stress," a lesson designed for high school freshmen, has them identify 10 major stressors as well as the...
Curated OER
Parachutes
Learners make a parachute. In this air resistance lesson, students create a parachute using materials they think will work the best. Learners try out their parachutes, noting which one worked the best. Students discuss how the size,...
Curated OER
Blow-and-Go Parachute
Learners design a skydiver and parachute constraption to demonstrate how drag caused by air resistance slows the descent of skydivers as they travel back to Earth. They experience how gravity pulls the skydiver toward the earth and how...
DiscoverE
Safe Landing
Watch out below! Future engineers come up with methods to ensure that a ball in a cup stays in the cup even after dropped from a given height. It might be prudent to include some kind of shock absorber in the cup. Parachutes are a good...
Teach Engineering
Egg-cellent Landing
The classic egg-drop experiment gets a new bounce with an activity that asks pairs to design a lander similar to one used to land a rover on Mars within a fixed budget. The activity provides a great introduction to the idea of terminal...
Curated OER
Parachutes
Students examine how parachutes work, and research and discuss the first man to envision and sketch the first parachute. They analyze air resistance, drag force, drop time, and terminal velocity.
Teach Engineering
Flight of the Fruit: Weight, Gravity and Imagination
Beware the falling fruit. Scholars design and build parachutes that can help protect fruit as it falls. They test out their creations, learning about gravity, weight, air resistance, and measurement concepts along the way.
NASA
Egg Drop Lander
You have to crack a few eggs to make a good engineer! Working in small groups, young scholars design, build, and test devices that protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a ladder.
Curated OER
5th Grade, Egg Droppers
The classic "Egg Drop Activity" is described in this fine science lesson plan. Young scientists work together to design a container that will protect the eggs inside of it when dropped from a high place. Lots of good scientific...
DiscoverE
At Home: Safe Landing Activity
A parachute is probably a good idea. An engaging lesson has pupils brainstorm ways to slow the descent of a falling object to minimize the impact when it lands. They decide on a design, build a prototype, test it out, and then make...
Curated OER
Aw Chute!
Students are presented with the problem of constructing a parachute that has the maximum hang time. They construct their own parachute using available materials. Pupils drop their parachutes from a height of two meters and record the...
Curated OER
Drop Zone Challenge
For this physics worksheet, students construct a parachute using the materials listed on the sheet that will have the longest and closest target when dropped from a specific height. Then they record their results after three trials.
Curated OER
Does Shape Affect Drag?
Students study drag and how it affects a parachute in the sky. In this parachutes lesson students build models and compare their drag.