Paper Shuttle: Build It and Drop It

A cool-down where students build a shuttle from paper and tape and test how it falls. They discover why a shuttle always flips and falls base first.

How to play

1. Crumple half a sheet into a tight ball and wrap it with tape: that's the base (2 min).
2. Roll the other half into a cone and tape it to the ball, wide end up; snip fringes around the rim (3 min).
3. Toss it up upside down and watch it flip and always fall ball first (2 min).
4. Calm contest: drop the shuttle from shoulder height into a hoop or trash can two steps away (2 min).
5. Pick up scraps and discuss which design fell most steadily (1 min).

Rules

• Pass scissors closed, handle first.
• Scraps go in the trash before leaving.
• Toss only up or forward, never at anyone's face.

Variations

Adaptations

• Fine-motor difficulties: work in pairs and split tasks (one holds, one tapes).
• Visual impairment: feel the difference between base and skirt and listen to it land.
• Students with ADHD: they hand out materials and test the first prototype.

Learning goals

• Understand how a shuttle flies.
• Make equipment cooperatively.
• Calm down with a hands-on task.

Equipment for a class of 25

• sheets of paper: 30
• masking tape: 7
• scissors: 15

Teacher tip

If you have no scissors, tear the fringes by hand. These shuttles work later for warm-ups or at home.

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