How to Make a Straw and Paper Airplane
What kid doesn't love paper airplanes? We tried out this variation and made some straw and paper airplanes. These flew so much better than I expected! And we got to experiment with different sizes and structures to see which one flies the furthest.
How to Make a Straw and Paper Airplane
This was a super simple activity, though the kids did need some help with construction.
With a little help (mostly with taping so that the card stock stayed on the straw), my kids tried out different types of airplanes and had a blast throwing them all around the backyard.
Materials
- straws (we used paper straws)
- card stock
- scissors
- tape
How to Make a Straw and Paper Airplane
We discovered the making this airplane worked best with paper straws and card stock, since those materials are sturdier than plastic straws (and more sustainable!) and construction paper.
- Cut out strips of card stock (or construction paper) in various sizes and lengths.
- Use tape to turn your card stock strips into loops.
- Position your card stock loops along your paper straw and tape them in place.
The basic straw and paper airplane:
- a long loop of card stock taped to the end of the straw
- a smaller loop of card stock taped to the front of the straw
Make this a STEM Activity
You can easily turn this into a STEM activity/science experiment:
- Experiment with different lengths and sizes of card stock loops. What happens when you make the loops bigger? Smaller?
- Add more card stock loops onto your straw. What happens when you have 3 loops? 4 loops?
- Try flying your airplane in different directions. Does it work better when you launch it with the small loop or the big loop facing forward?
- Create tubes of card stock instead of skinnier loops (this was completely my kid's idea). Does you plane fly better with big tubes of card stock or smaller loops?
Rebecca is a chaplain at a girls’ school, a mom to boys, and a crafter of all things. She crochets in every free moment she has, and she spends much of her time gluing cotton balls to toilet paper rolls and mopping up glitter.
