STEMpack: Aerospace Engineering

We partnered with the Arconic Foundation to introduce middle school students to physics and engineering through constructing a hot air balloon, a rocket, and more. A total of seven lesson plans across 12 hours of instruction, the curriculum is designed to encourage perseverance and inquisitiveness through experimentation.

This curriculum is intended for a classroom setting with space available for launching the aircraft that students build, to be led by an experienced educator who is comfortable with basic aerospace and physics principles. The robust lessons build on one another and cover the history of flight, the physics and construction of aircraft, and more. The lessons can be flexible depending on educators’ needs, but we recommend completing the lessons over the course of five days of instruction, combining lessons 1 and 2 and lessons 6 and 7.

Included

  • Plans for lessons 1–7
  • Materials lists
  • Experiments that explore Bernoulli’s principle, Newton’s third law of motion, and more
  • Instructions for a rocket launch

This Curriculum Is Best Suited To

  • An audience of middle-school students
  • A setting with space available for aircraft launches
  • An instructor experienced in classroom management and comfortable with aerospace principles

Download the STEMpack: Aerospace Engineering curriculum.

Please fill out this form to access all the materials for this curriculum.

More about STEMpack Curricula

AAUW and our partner organizations have successfully teamed up to produce STEMpacks: innovative and easy-to-use curricula for advocates and educators working with middle-school girls. STEMpacks cover engaging topics from cyber security to aerospace engineering. Not only do students tackle cutting-edge coursework, but they also remain inspired to pursue their STEM passions long after the lessons are finished.

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