Hovercraft

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In this activity, learners make plates levitate! Learners build "hovercrafts" using simple materials to explore friction and motion. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
5 to 10 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
$1 - $5 per student
Age Range:
Ages 6 - 11
Resource Type:
Activity
Language:
English, Spanish

Materials List (per student)

  • ballpoint pen
  • large plastic plate
  • film canister
  • 12 in. round balloon
  • poster putty

Keywords

Subjects

  • Engineering and Technology
    • Engineering
      • Transportation Engineering
  • Physical Sciences
    • Motion and Forces
  • The Nature of Science
    • The Scientific Process
      • Asking Questions
      • Conducting Investigations

Informal Categories

  • Toys
  • Transportation

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Foreign language versions of this resource:

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, WGBH Educational Foundation, 2003

Funding Sources:

  • National Science Foundation, 0229796
  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • PBS