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Fly a Hot-Air Balloon
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Learners assemble a hot-air balloon from tissue paper. The heated air (from a heat gun) inside the balloon is less dense than the surrounding air and causes the balloon to float.

FlyBy Math: Distance-Rate-Time Problems in Air Traffic Control
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In this small-group activity, learners assume the roles of pilots, air traffic controllers, and NASA scientists to solve five Air Traffic Control (ATC) problems.

Pollution Patrol
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In this activity, learners explore how engineers design devices that can detect the presence of pollutants in the air.

Hot Air
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In this activity, learners set up an experiment to investigate the effects of hot air on the path of a laser beam.

Tumble Wing Walkalong Glider
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In this physics activity (page 2 of the PDF), learners will construct their own walkalong glider. They will explore how air, though invisible, surrounds and affects other objects.

Hot Air Balloon
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In this activity, learners build a hot air balloon using just a few sheets of tissue paper and a hair dryer.

Heat Capacity: Can't Take the Heat?
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Why is ocean water sometimes the warmest when the average daily air temperature starts to drop? In this activity, learners explore the differing heat capacities of water and air using real data.

Origami Flying Disk
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In this three-part activity, learners use paper to explore Bernoulli's Principle — fast-moving air has lower pressure than non-moving air.

Handheld Water Bottle Rocket & Launcher
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In this activity, learners build handheld rockets and launchers out of PVC pipes and plastic bottles. Use this activity to demonstrate acceleration, air pressure, and Newton's Laws of Motion.

Rocket Wind Tunnel
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In this activity, learners evaluate the potential performance of air rockets placed inside a wind tunnel.

Lung Capacity
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This is an activity about lung capacity. Learners will measure their own lung capacity using a homemade spirometer.
Up, Up and Away with Bottles
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In this activity, learners make water rockets to explore Newton's Third Law of Motion. Learners make the rockets out of plastic bottles and use a bicycle pump to pump them with air.

Home Mycology Lab
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Agriculturalists have long considered mushroom growing a challenge, largely because you need a piece of benchtop equipment known as a laminar flow hood.

Engineer an Aeolipile
Source Institutions
In this engineering design challenge, learners build an air-powered spinning machine.

Engineer an Octopus Suction Pad
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In this engineering design challenge, learners build an octopus-inspired suction pad that can grab an object and hold it tightly in the air.

Blow-and-Go Parachute
Learners make a skydiver and parachute contraption and launch it. They see that the drag created by air resistance slows the descent of skydivers as they travel back to Earth.

Cylindrical Wing
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In this design and physics challenge, learners construct a cylindrical wing, fly it, make modifications, and determine how the changes affect flight patterns.

Wind Tubes
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In this activity, learners create and experiment with wind tubes. These tubes are a playful and inventive way to explore the effect that moving air has on objects.

Playing with Parachutes
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In this activity, learners explore how parachutes are used to slow down moving objects. Learners work in teams of "engineers" to design and build their own parachutes out of everyday items.

Under Pressure
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In this experiment, learners examine how pressure affects water flow. In small groups, learners work with water and a soda bottle, and then relate their findings to pressure in the deep ocean.