Santa's Parachute

Santa needs a parachute for emergency landings from his sleigh. Santa should be able to land safely , without falling out of the parachute.

First we discussed how parachutes work. What makes them float down slowly? Students explained how air or wind gets trapped in the parachute to slow it down. We discussed the size of the parachute compared to how heavy Santa is… maybe we need to use more than one coffee filter, or a large piece of tissue paper?

Students were given time to plan their design. Depending on the grade level, students are encouraged to label their plans with materials.

Students then tested their designs by dropping their parachutes. If needed, students improve their creations. When the parachute works, students could add pennies (as Santa’s presents) to make an additional challenge.

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