If you have a STEAM kid that’s obsessed with all things flight, birds, paper airplanes, and origami they are going to absolutely love these amazing STEM bird flyers! You’re going to sneak in some really amazing learning about science, lift, thrust, and answer the question “How do Birds Fly” with our easy to create STEAM activity!
How Do Birds Fly?
Birds use two things to make themselves fly: Lift & Thrust.
When air quickly moves across a bird’s wings, it creates a difference in pressure between the top and bottom of the wing, causing the wing (and the bird!) to rise or lift. The second thing that makes birds fly is thrust. In order to get that fast-moving air on the top of their wings, birds flap them. As they push their wings down creating thrust, the air speeds up, and lift takes place.
See the Bird Flyers In Action
Check out how we made these bird flyers. It’s really easy and fun!
Bird Flyer Supplies Needed
All you need to make these birds really sail are a few simple supplies. First up is the template which can grab here:
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BIRD FLYERS TEMPLATE
- Template
- Paper
- Markers or colored pencils
- Paper Straws
- Scissors
- Clear tape
- Playdough
How to Build Bird Flyers
- Print out a template and color the feathers with markers or colored pencils. Want to design your own wings? Use the template as a pattern and cut plain paper.
- Cut out along the outer black lines.
- Attach the Wings piece to the middle of the straw with clear tape.
- Fold Tail Piece 1 in half at the center dotted line. Then again at the dotted lines that run through the wings.
- Place end of straw on Tail Piece 2 and tape securely.
- Place folded Tail Piece 1 on top of Tail Piece 2 so it lines up. Attach with clear tape.
- Add a ball of playdough to the end of the straw in front of the wings to give the bird some weight.
- Now fly! Hold the bird by the straw and launch out straight in front of you.
Troubleshooting Your Bird Flyers!
Engineering often requires what’s called iteration. Design, test, optimize, repeat. Here are some hints to help your bird fly better:
- Does it fly upside down? The tailpiece might be crooked.
- Does it dive bomb? Try changing the amount of playdough on the nose.
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BIRD FLYERS TEMPLATE
More Fun Ways to Create Animal Crafts
Love to create animal crafts? Try out these other animal activities!
Check out our Whirly Twirly Flying Birds. They’re a fun way to play and learn with balloons.
Or check out how to make Animal Tracks Handprint Painting!
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BIRD FLYERS TEMPLATE
This is just one of the amazing projects in this ebook…
Looking for some more STEAM inspiration that you can use right now? Instant gratification style? Check out STEAM Explorers!! The coolest creative experience for kids is here! It's a digital book of the month club filled with tons of fun stuff for the kids to do and learn. All engineer, teacher, and mom-approved. And most definitely KID APPROVED! What’s included? Have fun as we reduce, reuse, renew, and recycle in April with the STEAM Explorers Recycle Issue! The kids will love upcycling old shirts into tote bags, building litter bug bots, making bioplastic, eating garbage cookies, renewing plants, making Earth sculptures, and so much more! You'll love the helpful standards-based learning, printables, and tools that make STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, & math) exploration easy! We’ve split the issue into four weekly themes:
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BIRD FLYERS TEMPLATE