Design a Parachute

As part of the lesson, students first learned the history of the parachute and its use in military and leisure activities, then learned the principles of parachute design. They then designed their own chutes, making canopies out of various materials, including plastic Ziplock bags, garbage bags and tissue paper. The third graders then tested their designs by measuring the rate of descent with a stopwatch. Finally, they analyzed their data to discover how to improve their designs.

 

Students in Mrs. Dipty Desai’s STEM Lab recently learned what it takes to design a parachute – namely, the best way to slow a payload during its descent. What did they learn? As well as learning new vocabulary including “suspension,” “canopy” and “payload,” the students learned valuable lessons in physics – and enhanced their knowledge of the scientific method.

According to third grader Mia Rakita, “If you make the suspension lines shorter and the parachute wider, it’ll make it go slower.”

Chloe Frost designed her parachute to “make the suspension lines really long and the canopy as wide as it can go.”

Henry Byrd learned, “You need to make the material light, but not too light, and add a vent at the top.”

Maya Villejo also emphasized the importance of the vent. “Add a hole in the top to let some air out. If there’s no hole, the parachute will tip over and hurt someone.”

Donovan Boesch was concerned about the weight of his parachute affecting his descent time.  “Use less tape,” he advised, “because the more tape you use, the heavier the parachute will be.”

This is just one of the exciting projects happening in Mrs. Desai’s STEM Lab this year.