Some aerospace activities that can be accomplished with inexpensive materials are highlighted below. These aren't necessarily the best choices, since information on the web changes constantly, but they are a good starting point. Most of these you can try at home.
Searching for "Hot Air Balloon Plans Paper" we found:
Hot Air Balloon Experiment (Children's Museum, Indianapolis)
Hot Air Tissue Paper Balloon (Syracuse University, "AskERIC")
There are many sites on the web where you can download paper airplane model plans to print out and build. Here are a couple we found with a search using the keywords "paper airplane plans":
Paper Airplanes by the PC Help Group
See also Texas Science Olympiad Study Sites
This site has lots of information on modeling with paper card stock: Card Modeling FAQ
Want to try flying the Wright Brother's airplane? Would you like to see a movie of their flight? Try this site:: http://hawaii.cogsci.uiuc.edu/invent/air_main.shtml
Ever thought of building a wind tunnel like the Wright Brothers? Here's a Scientific American article on building a simple wind tunnel: http://www.sciam.com/1197issue/1197amsci.html
Searching for "museum flight activities":
www.childrensmuseum.org/fly.htm
If you want to try your hand at designing a subsonic commercial transport: similar to but an improvement on the Boeing 737, try this site
NASA Ames Systems Analysis Branch
Hints: start by making big changes, such as: the number of engines, the type of engines, the shape of the cabin (number of seats across). Once you can get to New York (adding wing area and increasing fuel fraction), you need to decrease the ticket cost. What is the biggest driver? Is it the acquisition cost of the airplane, or the fuel used? Try using the most efficient engines versus making the airplane cheaper (lighter is cheaper; also, how does engine cost effect the total?). Finally, since you get to see the picture of your airplane, and in the Hall of Fame you see the shape of the winner, you could work your design so that it looks like the winner... --cjm
You can make a rocket from an empty pop bottle. Then pressurize with an air pump, Alka-Seltzer, vinegar and soda, and you have a working rocket. Using "bottle rocket" keywords we found many (!) sites. Here are two:
NASA ROCKET CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Drop a protected egg from a high altitude on to a hard surface without breaking the egg. Sort of like bringing in the Pathfinder lander experiment for a soft landing on the planet Mars: Center for Mars Exploration Home Page (NASA Ames Research Center)
A description of an egg drop contest from jcbarber@guhsd.k12.az.us
See also Texas Science Olympiad Study Sites
Let's say you are interested in aerospace structures. Usually this involves the lightest structure that meets the requirements. Try designing a balsa wood tower that for a given weight supports the maximum load. Examples:
Straw Tower Contest (Secondary School)
