The Brown Bag STEM Challenge- Paper Helicopters

At first glance, this project is simple, but, upon closer inspection, it’s rather deceptive as there are a lot of variables for students to manipulate and experiment with.

Using only some basic supplies, students will work in teams to produce a paper helicopter, based on an initial basic design, that will stay aloft the longest.  Older students can do this project solo, but to enhance the collaborative element, students are encouraged to work in a team, with each student designing his own helicopter.

Once students have experimented with some basic designs, they can design their own.  Teams can modify the dimensions of the helicopter as well as the weight of the paperclip(s) and paper.

The Brown Bag STEM Challenge bundle pack includes 10 high-interest design challenges that use low-cost materials that (almost all) fit into a brown bag!  Challenges comes complete with design briefs, STEM notebook pages and a PDF slide deck. In each challenge, students work in teams to design, build and test solutions, following NGSS Engineering Design Performance Expectations.

Get the Brown Bag STEM Challenge Bundle Pack with 10 Design Challenges including Paper Helicopters!