The Paper Airplane Guy – John Collins (Academic Entertainment) – In-person and STEAM At a Distance Virtual/Online – STEM – Physics, Hands-on Arts

Program Description

John Collins is The Paper Airplane Guy. He is a keynote speaker with more than 30 years of experience, as well as an author, and a world record holder for paper airplane distance. His presentations are visually stunning and entertaining with the goal of engaging the audience and presenting great information. Students will explore science using the fun and wonder of paper airplanes.

The Paper Airplane Guy’s 45-minute in-person or virtual/online school show demonstrates a wide variety of aerodynamic principles: Lift, Drag, Gravity, Wing Loading, Control Surfaces, Dihedral Angle, Theories of Lift, Stalls, Slope Soaring, Canard Design, Scale Effects, Glide Ratio, Sink Rate, and the crazy cool secret of the world record paper airplane. Twenty four of John’s original designs provide real proof for the theories, plus a whole lot of fun for students (and staff too!).

It’s real aerodynamics instruction, teaching the physics of flight, demonstrated and explained using paper airplanes. It’s fun and the materials are inexpensive and readily available in most schools and homes, because it’s only paper. The interactive school assembly includes live and engaging instructional demonstrations intermixed with hands-on paper airplane making.

Planes will streak across the room (or screen!), glide gently, tumble, flap their wings, circle back, flip over, fly upside down, and spin for what seems like forever. Though forever may vary! Older students most enjoy the chance to learn how to fold the world-record airplane.

Best for grades 4 and older. There is a version of the in-person or virtual assembly available for K-3 that is appropriate for their level of developmental dexterity and fine motor skills.