The Wright Brothers for Kids How They Invented the Airplane, 21 Activities Exploring the Science and History of Flight

by Carson, Mary Kay

• ISBN13: 9781556524776
• ISBN10: 1556524773
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-05-01
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press

Summary

This activity book tells the amazing true story of how two bicycle-making brothers from Ohio, with no more than high-school educations, accomplished a feat that forever changed the world. At a time when most people still hadn't ridden in an automobile, Wilbur and Orville Wright built the first powered, heavier-than-air flying machine. Woven throughout the heart-warming story of the two brothers are activities that highlight their ingenuity and problem-solving abilities as they overcame many obstacles to achieve controlled flight. The four forces of flight -- lift, thrust, gravity, and drag -- and how the Wright brothers mastered them are explained in clear, simple text. Activities include making a Chinese flying top, building a kite, bird watching, and designing a paper glider, and culminate with an activity in which readers build a rubber-band-powered flyer. Included are photographs just released from the Wright brothers' personal collection, along with diagrams and illustrations. The history of human flight and its pioneers, a time line, and a complete resource section for students are also provided.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	viii
Note to Readers	ix
Time Line	x
Preface Dreams---and Nightmares---of a Flying Machine	xii
Bishops, Boys, and Bicycles
Alphonse Penaud	2	(2)
Fly a Top	4	(3)
Quick Kite	7	(4)
Paul Laurence Dunbar	11	(1)
Neighborhood News	12	(2)
Curved Kite	14	(5)
First Thoughts of Flight	19	(18)
Otto Lilienthal	20	(2)
Watch the Birds	22	(2)
Flip and Fly Book	24	(2)
The Montgolfier Brothers	26	(1)
Fly a Balloon	27	(4)
Wing It!	31	(1)
Lift vs. Gravity	32	(1)
Thrust vs. Drag	33	(1)
Sir George Cayley	34	(3)
Getting Flight Under Control	37	(18)
Pitch, Roll, and Yaw	43	(5)
Glide a Glider	48	(4)
Octave Chanute	52	(3)
Gliding at Kitty Hawk	55	(30)
Design a Paper Glider	56	(10)
Measure the Wind	66	(11)
Francis Herbert Wenham	77	(1)
Testing with Wind	78	(2)
Make Scones	80	(5)
Building the World's First Airplane	85	(28)
Propel It!	90	(2)
Samuel Pierpont Langley	92	(11)
Send a Telegram	103	(8)
Alberto Santos-Dumont	111	(2)
The Wright Brothers' Airplane Company and Legacy	113	(23)
Aeroplane or Flugzeug?	121	(5)
How Fast to Fly?	126	(2)
Louis Bleriot	128	(2)
Glenn H. Curtiss	130	(3)
Field Guide to the Air	133	(3)
Epilogue The Fate of the Wright ``Kitty Hawk'' Flyer	136	(2)
Appendix: Build a Powered Flyer	138	(3)
Glossary	141	(1)
Web Sites to Explore	142	(1)
Places to Visit	143	(1)
Books to Read	144	(1)
Index	145