STEAM at a distance. The Paper Airplane Guy, John Collins, was one of the first to take his Paper Airplane STEM School Assembly into the virtual space. So far, he has presented for WIRED, Make, Atria University in India, St George’s School in Vancouver, SC Johnson (multiple schools through the Kaleidoscope program), and Cameo Cinema in St. Helena.
The Paper Airplane Guy's 45-minute virtual school show demonstrates a wide variety of aerodynamic principles: Lift, Drag, Gravity, Wing Loading, Control Surfaces, Dihedral Angle, Theories of Lift, Stalls, Canard Design, Scale Effects, Glide Ratio, Sink Rate, and the crazy cool secret of the world record paper airplane. Twenty-four of John's original designs provide real proof for the theories, plus a whole lot of fun for students (and staff too!).
It’s real aerodynamics instruction, teaching the physics of flight online, demonstrated and explained using paper airplanes. It’s fun and the materials are inexpensive and readily available in most homes and schools, because it’s only paper. The virtual assembly includes 30 minutes of live and engaging instructional demonstrations, followed by 15 minutes of hands-on paper airplane making.
- Zoom Preferred, Meets, Teams and other platforms possible.
- Up to 400 audience members.
- Best for grades 4 and older.
There is a version of the virtual school assembly available for K-3 that is appropriate for their level of developmental dexterity and fine motor skills.
Paper Airplane STEM School Assembly
John Collins is The Paper Airplane Guy. He is a keynote speaker with more than 30 years of experience, as well as an author, and a world record holder for paper airplane distance. His presentations are visually stunning and entertaining with the goal of engaging the audience and presenting great information. Students will explore science using the fun and wonder of paper airplanes.
The Paper Airplane Guy's 45-minute school show demonstrates a wide variety of aerodynamic principles: Lift, Drag, Gravity, Wing Loading, Control Surfaces, Dihedral Angle, Theories of Lift, Stalls, Slope Soaring, Canard Design, Scale Effects, Glide Ratio, Sink Rate, and the crazy cool secret of the world record paper airplane. Twenty four of John's original designs provide real proof for the theories, plus a whole lot of fun for students (and staff too!).
It’s real aerodynamics instruction, teaching the physics of flight, demonstrated and explained using paper airplanes. It’s fun and the materials are inexpensive and readily available in most schools, because it’s only paper. The interactive school assembly includes 30 minutes of live and engaging instructional demonstrations, followed by 15 minutes of hands-on paper airplane making.
Planes will streak across the room, glide gently, tumble, flap their wings, circle back, flip over, fly upside down, and spin for what seems like forever. Though forever may vary! Older students most enjoy the chance to learn how to fold the world-record airplane.
Best for grades 4 and older. There is a version of the assembly available for K-3 that is appropriate for their level of developmental dexterity and fine motor skills.
John broke the world record for flight distance of a paper aircraft in 2012; a record he still holds. He is the author of four books of original designs, and has been called the world’s foremost expert on paper airplanes. His planes are recognized around the globe, and one was featured in the movie “Paper Planes”. His books have been translated into German, Russian, Chinese and Japanese. His designs are routinely found at the Red Bull Paper Wings World Finals. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum will be inducting John’s aerodynamically unique, world record design, into the collection, as part of the reopening of the “How Things Fly” exhibit in 2022.