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Flapping Wings for Schools
Do you want to get your students excited about learning? Here is what happened when a teacher in Idaho started to use the "ornithopters", or flying bird models, in his classroom:

"Great things happening with flapping wings... I have students that are high on flight and not on drugs. This is a great project for parent and child. Many of your problem kids have parents that don't work with their kids on anything. This has made a difference in three of my students' families. Something about flapping wings that infects everyone!"

Thomas Cole
Skyview High School
Nampa ID

Education Discounts!
Our "Classroom Packs" include twelve kits priced about 20% off for educators. School purchase orders can be mailed to the Ornithopter Zone, 582 Laurelton Road, Rochester NY 14609.

MapleCopter
12 for $35
grades 1-12
Freebird
12 for $99
grades 7-12
Tim Bird
12 for $99
grades 3-8
 
How Birds Fly
$15.95
grades 4-12

Elementary Grades K-5

If you are teaching at the elementary level, you can use the MapleCopter (maple seed helicopter) to introduce your students to simple kit-building and devices that mimic natural flight. This is the ideal hands-on activity for lessons on plants, seed dispersal, etc. Even first graders can build these simple models!

If you want your students to do some experiments with flapping wings, you can use the Tim Bird. This flying bird model is suitable for elementary grades because it comes fully assembled. Students in 5th grade can build their own ornithopters from a kit, but they will need a lot of help from experienced adults.

   
 
Students in different grade levels at Neil Armstrong School built and flew their own MapleCopters and flying bird models.

Secondary Grades 6-12

Rodman Philbrick's book, Freak the Mighty, has introduced thousands of teachers, students, and parents to the idea of building a mechanical bird. If you give your students a list of projects they can do related to the book, this project is likely on that list, as it provides something for your visual-spatial learners. Students will have to use a kit in order to complete the project successfully.

Science teachers can hold contests where students build their own ornithopters and compete to see who can get the longest flight. Although students should build their first model from a kit, they can experiment with design changes to increase the flying time. Here are two resources that will help you plan an ornithopter contest:

Science Olympiad

Science Olympiad is a national competition for middle and high school students. Students from different schools compete in science-related contest events. Science Olympiad is presently conducting a trial event for flying bird models. If your school has a Science Olympiad team, this is a great excuse to get your students working on ornithopters!

The Flying Bird event began in North Carolina, and it's a regular event in that state's Science Olympiad competition. For more info, visit the NC Science Olympiad web site. 

Learning Standards

Natural flight investigations will help in your effort to achieve state or national learning standards. Building a model from a kit's written instructions is a real-world language lesson that teaches students to read for information and understanding. They will also learn math, science, and technology skills through hands-on experience. Students will want to carry out their own inquiry-based experiments to learn more about flapping-wing flight!