Talking to (little) kids about flying

Jim K said:
I've been asked to give a presentation about aviation to my youngest's 4H group.
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Definitely start the presentation with the question my CFI used on the first day of ground school: "What makes airplanes fly?" The answers were all over the board and wrong. As aircraft owners, we all know the answer now. LOL
 
What every you do, don't talk about pressure altitude like I was trying to do...
 
Just guessing, your youngster may be a bit more advanced than the average 5-7 year old when it comes to airplanes. I used to be part of an RC club that would teach middle school kids how to fly model airplanes, incorporating some science into the mix. It was partly a STEM thing, but partly building encouragement for inner city kids. Anyway, at that age the four forces and basic laws of motion were just right. I don't know if younger would get it too much.

But something visual they can see, like a big model prop? Absolutely. And one of the things I'd bring up was that flying a plane was all about practice and hard work. That it didn't matter if you were a boy or a girl (there were only the 2 options when we did this. :) ) or how big or strong you were, that anyone who had the opportunity that didn't have any serious disability could fly.

We then got into the bit of how to fly, and we explained to the parents that the kids would learn it quicker than they would...and they always did. That was always fun for the kids. The other bit that they appreciated was that it was real. It wasn't simulated or animated or pretend. So much of what they were familiar with was. Some of them didn't pay that much attention, most did, and for some it seemed to kinda stick. It was a rewarding experience.
 
Zeldman said:
Tell them to run to their daddies wallets and get all the green paper out.

That's what really makes airplanes fly...
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Daleandee said:
Actually my answer to what makes airplanes fly ...

View attachment 148973
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Nobody carries around that ancient stuff anymore. Even plastic cards are going the way of the dodo. People pay for things today by tapping their phone or watch where it says 1768425524089.png.
 
Jim_R said:
People pay for things today by tapping their phone or watch where it says View attachment 148991.
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Except when they put the logo some random place far the eff away from the actual reader and M.J. McMunchy spends a half hour trying to figure it out.
 
Sorry I'm late to this thread, but my recommendation is to not underestimate kids. Sure, some that have no interest will absorb nothing, but the few that have interest and aptitude will absorb more than you think. Plan on a lot of Q&A. I think you will excel at that.

PS, I like the idea of using the hand out the window as an example, but perhaps I'm a dinosaur.
 
There are at least two kids who have stuck their hand out the window of a moving car.

One of them may have even stuck his hand out the window of a moving plane :cool:

Granted, the car might have been going faster...
 
My grandfather had a saying…”Don’t stick your hand out too far or it might go home in another car!”
 
It went fairly well. There was 22 kids, which was more than I was expecting. I should've rehearsed as I stumbled around a bit at the beginning. I asked who had stuck their hand out the window of he car and all but maybe 4 had, and understood what I was talking about. That's really the crucial link I think in explaining to little kids that they're surrounded by an invisible fluid that we can manipulate. I made a worksheet:

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Which was okay, but they got a little antsy about halfway through. I should've made it simpler or not bothered at all. They actually asked really good questions. One kid asked how old my airplane was, another asked what happens if the engine quits. They were really fascinated by the idea of a seaplane. The teacher/leader lady asked if high wings or low wings were better :stirpot:.

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Half Fast said:
I find it disturbing that someone who is entrusted with the education of the young does not already understand the inherent superiority of the low wing configuration.
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Keep in mind that she’s teaching the 4 H’s, not the 3 F’s.
 
Baked Potato said:
If you really want to get them interested in aviation, pass around copies of the FAR/AIM.

Really though, kids that age love hands-on stuff. They run towards the exhibits in the museums where they can put their little sticky hands on interactive doohickeys. Do you happen to have any yoke/stick/throttle/pedals (maybe a stretch but worth an ask). Like from a sim or similar? So that you can explain how the controls work from the pilot's perspective. (Pull yoke, cows get smaller, push yoke, cows get bigger, etc)
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That’s assuming they know what a cow is.
 
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