Floating Parachutes Kit: Engineering Air Resistance and Safe Descent
In The League Floating Parachutes unit, students step into the shoes of toy-design engineers who must solve a challenge: a parachute prototype is falling too fast and crashing. Now the class picks up the role, exploring how canopy size, suspension line length, material choice and drag affect descent speed.
This kit is designed for early elementary learners (grades K-2) and spans about 10 slide-based lessons (~10-12 hours of instructional time). Through investigation, brainstorming, prototyping, testing and iteration, students build parachute models, measure fall time, tweak parameters, and refine designs to achieve safer, slower landings. The engineering design process becomes accessible and exciting.
Teachers receive full support: lesson decks, student worksheets, build logs, teacher guides, embedded media—all aligned to NGSS engineering practices and age-appropriate. The materials kit is sized for a full-class challenge, enabling teams to design, test and compare parachutes.
As students iterate, they uncover insights into forces of gravity, air resistance (drag), weight distribution, and surface area. These abstract concepts become tangible as they observe how a larger canopy slows the fall or how longer suspension lines alter stability. Collaboration, data-driven adjustment and reflective thinking are embedded in each build cycle.
What’s Included in the Box
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Slide-based Teacher Presentation Deck (~10 lessons)
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Standards-alignment documentation for early elementary (K-2)
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Hands-on Materials Kit (enough for ~30 students) including parachute canopy sheets, suspension line materials, loading weights/test objects, connectors & craft supports
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Student Worksheets & Build-Log Templates (sketch → test → iterate)
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Embedded Media Access (video examples, discussion prompts, measurement walkthroughs)
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Reflection & Team-Presentation Templates
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Teacher Guide with facilitation notes, differentiation suggestions & assessment ideas
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Storage/Organizer Tray for materials
The League Floating Parachutes Kit transforms a simple descent into a rich engineering journey. Students don’t just drop objects—they become inventors, experimenters and critical thinkers. It’s hands-on, joyful, and packed with meaningful STEM learning that connects to real-world phenomena.
