Paper airplane science fair projects

What to expect

A paper airplane is a real science fair project when you change one thing about it and keep everything else the same. Fold the same plane with different wings, or add paper clips to the nose one at a time, then throw it the same way from the same line, three times for each, and measure how far it goes. The spinner and the falling paper ask the same question the other way round: what makes paper fall slowly? Those are timed with a timer instead of measured with a tape.

The hard part is throwing the same way every time. Put a strip of masking tape on the floor as your line, stand behind it, and throw gently and level with the same arm and the same push. Measure to where the nose first touches the floor. A hallway or a big room is better than outside, because the wind changes every throw. Never throw at anyone's face. For 7th grade and up, a second change makes it interesting: slide a paper clip along the body, or try each wing shape with and without a clip, and graph both tests side by side.

Counted from the projects on this page: 7 about how things move; 7 using paper, tape and toys. Every one is free with what most houses have. Testing takes 1 day. None needs a grown-up to do a step, only to be nearby.