SmartScience

October, 2008

Glide into Fall

Have you ever wondered why we named our autumn season “fall”? Can you guess? In the Northern Hemisphere, leaves change color, die, and fall to the ground. Many of the fruits, nuts, and berries that we enjoy during this harvest season ripen and fall off trees, vines, and bushes.

Legend has it that a very famous scientist named Isaac Newton thought a lot about why objects fall, after an apple fell from a tree and hit him on the head! This led him to develop his whole concept of gravity. What goes up must come down! All objects pull on other objects. The earth’s gravity pulls objects toward the earth. The earth’s gravity pulls on us and gives us weight.

The concept of gravity is obvious to anyone who has heard “Be careful! Don’t fall!” when climbing a tree. You could fall if you weren’t careful. Are there ways to “defy gravity”? What if you could avoid falling by “gliding” out of the tree? In forests like we have in West Virginia, a squirrel actually does this.

Northern flying squirrel photo from tahoefacts.com

By stretching out all four legs to tighten up folds of skin called “patagia”, it steers with it’s broad, flat tail and glides to safety.

You can make a glider of your own to “glide into fall” this year. Here’s how to do it.

First of all, gather materials and tools you will need: A styrofoam one-dozen egg carton, scissors or razor knife, a pen, a penny for weight, some tape or glue, and a pattern for cutting out the glider.

To get the pattern and clear, complete instructions, go to this website:

http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/flyingwing.html

Briella and Jada Taylor with egg carton gliders, taping on a penny to adjust flight.

You will need to print it out at “actual size”, put it inside the egg carton lid, trace and cut out. Tape or glue the penny in place. You can experiment with different positions for the penny and throwing techniques to get the best flight. Try throwing it at different speed and angles. Throw it gently, or with more force. See if you can make it fly in loops or glide for distance. Save your egg cartons and enjoy!

Robert E. Strong is the director of the West Liberty State College SMART-Center, the hands-on science center of the Northern Ohio Valley. Libby Strong is the Program Coordinator at the West Liberty State College SMART-Center and also directs the WV-Handle On Science Program that brings hands-on science kits to the public school classrooms of the Northern Panhandle. Richard Pollack is the assistant program coordinator, Webmaster, and technology specialist for the WLSC SMART-Center. Robert, Libby, and Richard invite you to visit the website at www.smartcenter.org