Museum of Science, Boston

Books for Kids

  • Aviation Legends Paper Airplane Book
    , by
    Ken Blackburn and Jeff Lammers
  • The Ultimate Paper Airplane
    , by
    Richard Kline

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Contact the Discovery Center and Living Lab staff at livinglab@mos.org

Copter Engineering: Toddlers






  

    

  Copter Engineering can be a fun science activity for people of all ages. We provide these generalizations as guidelines about what children at different ages might do during Copter Engineering explorations at the Discovery Center’s Experiment Station, in the kitchen at home, or at school. Listed below are science and technology process skills that children may be practicing during their explorations. Please remember: each child develops at a different rate, so some children in each age group may be able to do some of the things described in the age group before or after their own. 


How might toddlers explore Copter Engineering



  

      


  

    
Classify - Toddlers




Toddlers can point or verbally answer classification questions such as “What shape is this?”,  “Which one is bigger?”, or "Which copter fell faster?".


Toddlers can group different styles of copters according to size, weight or wing shape.
  





  

    
Observe - Toddlers




Toddlers can touch the paper and paperclips and think about what these materials are usually used for, and where they have seen or used these materials before.


Toddlers can answer questions about the copter: “What did the copter do when you let it go?”


Toddlers can point to the copter as it spins, or track it with their eyes.
  





  

    
Set Goals - Toddlers




Dropping copters helps younger toddlers practice grasping and releasing objects.  However, some toddlers will have difficulty releasing their copter at will and they may throw it rather than drop it.  


With practice, older toddlers can learn to release a copter at will, allowing them to conduct a 'copter race' with a peer or with a grownup.
  





  

    
Use Tools - Toddlers




Toddlers enjoy working with scissors and typically use a two-handed grasp, as they develop the hand-eye coordination necessary to make a cut on a piece of paper.


Toddlers can practice pushing a paper clip onto the paper copter, with the help of a grownup.