Glide Further than the Rest

‘Rise above the rest’ is the official motto of the RAF and this is what the children in Year 4 will be hoping to do in their current STEAM project. What is a STEAM project I hear you cry? It is a real life scenario project, based around the teaching approach of the Engineering Design Process. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths, and this project encompasses skills from all these subjects. A further aim is to link these projects to industries so that children have an appreciation of how they can use the skills they are learning every day in the future. We have modified the RAF motto to ‘Glide further than the Rest’ as that is what the children will need to do to be successful in their current project.

Year 4 are taking part in The Fly to the Line Challenge, run by RAF Cosford. The children have been put into teams of 3 and been given one foam sheet of A3 to make a glider. The group whose glider flies the furthest will represent the school at the regional finals. If successful at the regionals the children will travel to RAF Cosford for The Grand Final!

Our first lesson looked a paper glider. The team were required to explore how adding weight to different areas of the glider affected the flight. “I’m loving this lesson!” beamed Rosie as her paper glider soared high above the fence of the court and into the new playground trail. Next up, the teams will be reviewing current gliders on the market (expect to duck if visiting the classroom on Thursday morning) before using a Virtual Wind Tunnel app on the iPads to learn about drag and lift, and how the angle of the wings affects these values. It’s shaping up to be our most enjoyable project yet and is helping the engineers of the future hone their skills!