Project
Materials

Suzanne

WHAT WILL YOU MAKE?

In this project, you will make the “Suzanne”. This paper airplane design holds the world record for the farthest distance flown by a paper airplane. How far will yours go?

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

You will learn to fold an award-winning airplane design.

STEPS

STEP 1

Start with an 8.5" x 11" paper in landscape orientation. If you want the precise dimensions of the Suzanne, then trim 19mm from the width of your paper. Fold the top right corner down so that the top edge of the sheet lines up with the left edge of the paper.

STEP 2

Unfold your paper and repeat step two with the top left corner. Unfold it again. You should now have an X-shaped crease in your paper. Now fold the right edge of the paper down so that it is aligned with the crease that you made.

STEP 3

Unfold everything and repeat the last step with the top left corner of your paper. With the left flap still folded down, fold the right flap down on top of it.

STEP 4

Make note of where the two edges intersect. You will be folding the top of your paper down at this point. Fold the top of your paper down at the point that you marked in step seven. The top edge of your paper should be parallel with the bottom edge.

STEP 5

Fold the top left and right corners down so that they meet in the middle. Flip your paper over and rotate it so that the nose of the plane is pointing to the side.

STEP 6

Fold the bottom edge up to align with the top edge. Now fold one wing down so that it starts about 1/4 of an inch away from the nose and so that the diagonal edge lines up with the point of the bottom corner.

STEP 7

The left hand photo shows what the nose should look like. The right hand photo shows how the edge of the wing should line up with the corner (there should be paper showing beneath the wing).

STEP 8

Flip your paper over and repeat step twelve on the other side to create the other wing. Make sure that the two wings are evenly aligned. This is how your paper airplane should look if you did all of the folds correctly. Spread the wings so you can test it out!

STEP 9

Your Suzanne is now ready to fly! Th

WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE?

The forces that allow a paper plane to fly are the same ones that apply to real airplanes. A force is something that pushes or pulls on something else. When you throw a paper plane in the air, you are giving the plane a push to move forward. That push is a type of force called thrust. While the plane is flying forward, air moving over and under the wings is providing an upward lift force on the plane. At the same time, air pushing back against the plane is slowing it down, creating a drag force. The weight of the paper plane also affects its flight, as gravity pulls it down toward Earth. All of these forces (thrust, lift, drag and gravity) affect how well a given paper plane’s voyage goes. From Scientific American.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Explore more paper airplane builds with the classic dart. Or build a paper airplane launcher!

Materials:

  • 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper
  • Scissors

See More Projects in these topics:

Paper Crafts Physics STEM or STEAM

See More Projects from these themes:

The Depot (Airport/Space Station/ Racetrack)
Maker Camp
Maker Camp is a do-it-yourself online resource to help leaders like you organize a summer camp that engages children in making. Our goal is to provide you and your campers with the inspiration and the helpful resources, along with many possible projects to fit a wide range of interests and abilities. The idea is to focus on making as a playful, social activity. Maker Camp provides enough support for anyone to get started. Making provides experiences that help children become self-directed learners and good problem-solvers.
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Please Note

Your safety is your own responsibility, including proper use of equipment and safety gear, and determining whether you have adequate skill and experience. Power tools, electricity, and other resources used for these projects are dangerous, unless used properly and with adequate precautions, including safety gear and adult supervision. Some illustrative photos do not depict safety precautions or equipment, in order to show the project steps more clearly. Use of the instructions and suggestions found in Maker Camp is at your own risk. Make Community, LLC, disclaims all responsibility for any resulting damage, injury, or expense.

Maker Camp Project Standards

Based on NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)

National Core Arts Standards

The National Core Arts Standards are a process that guides educators in providing a unified quality arts education for students in Pre-K through high school. Also see Standards with cross-cutting anchors in Creating, Performing, Responding, and Connecting through art for Visual Arts.

NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.

Forces and Interactions

  • Grades K-2
    • K-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object.
    • K-PS2-2.Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull.
  • Grades 3-5
    • 3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
    • 3-PS2-2. Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.
    • 3-PS2-3. Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.
    • 3-PS2-4. Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying scientific ideas about magnets.
  • Middle School
    • MS-PS2-1. Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.
    • MS-PS2-2. Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
    • MS-PS2-3. Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.
    • MS-PS2-4. Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects.
    • MS-PS2-5. Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.
  • High School
    • HS-PS2-1. Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration.
    • HS-PS2-2. Use mathematical representations to support the claim that the total momentum of a system of objects is conserved when there is no net force on the system.
    • HS-PS2-3. Apply science and engineering ideas to design, evaluate, and refine a device that minimizes the force on a macroscopic object during a collision.
    • HS-PS2-4. Use mathematical representations of Newton’s Law of Gravitation and Coulomb’s Law to describe and predict the gravitational and electrostatic forces between objects.
    • HS-PS2-5. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that an electric current can produce a magnetic field and that a changing magnetic field can produce an electric current.

ISTE Standards (International Society for Technology in Education)

The ISTE Standards provide the competencies for learning, teaching and leading in the digital age, providing a comprehensive roadmap for the effective use of technology in schools worldwide.

1.1 Empowered Learner

  • Summary: Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.
  • 1.1.a Students articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.
  • 1.1.b Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning process.
  • 1.1.c Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
  • 1.1.d Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies.

1.2 Digital Citizen

  • Summary: Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.
  • 1.2.a Students cultivate and manage their digital identity and reputation and are aware of the permanence of their actions in the digital world.
  • 1.2.b Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices.
  • 1.2.c Students demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual property.
  • 1.2.d Students manage their personal data to maintain digital privacy and security and are aware of data-collection technology used to track their navigation online.

1.3 Knowledge Constructor

  • Summary: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
  • 1.3.a Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
  • 1.3.b Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.
  • 1.3.c Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.
  • 1.3.d Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.

1.4 Innovative Designer

  • Summary: Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.
  • 1.4.a Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.
  • 1.4.b Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.
  • 1.4.c Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
  • 1.4.d Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to work with open-ended problems.

1.5 Computational Thinker

  • Summary: Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions.
  • 1.5.a Students formulate problem definitions suited for technology-assisted methods such as data analysis, abstract models and algorithmic thinking in exploring and finding solutions.
  • 1.5.b Students collect data or identify relevant data sets, use digital tools to analyze them, and represent data in various ways to facilitate problem-solving and decision-making.
  • 1.5.c Students break problems into component parts, extract key information, and develop descriptive models to understand complex systems or facilitate problem-solving.
  • 1.5.d Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.

NGSS 3-5.Engineering Design

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.
  • 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.
For additional information on using content standards with our projects please visit the Maker Camp Playbook.

NGSS MS.Engineering Design

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.
  • MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
  • MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
  • MS-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
  • MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
For additional information on using content standards with our projects please visit the Maker Camp Playbook.

NGSS HS.Engineering Design

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards.
  • HS-ETS1-1. Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
  • HS-ETS1-2. Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
  • HS-ETS1-3. Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
  • HS-ETS1-4. Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.
For additional information on using content standards with our projects please visit the Maker Camp Playbook.

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