Dragon Paper Airplane STEM Project

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Wondering how to make a dragon paper airplane? This is a fun STEM activity for kids of all ages!

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Our kids absolutely love playing with paper airplanes, and this dragon paper airplane project takes the traditional activity to a whole ‘nother level. This is a fun dragon STEM activity for kids of all ages to enjoy!

Add this papercraft project to your homeschool lessons plans, enjoy it as part of an after school learning activity, or pretend you are making Chinese dragons for Chinese New Year! The sky is your only limit.

Yes, even teens can enjoy this STEM activity if they are willing to go beyond just crafting and flying and include some statistics and data graphing. And of course, all kids can apply this activity to a lesson on real-life airplanes.

So let’s get started with our dragon paper airplane STEM activity, shall we? And if you liked this activity, check out our ultimate collection of STEM activities for kids ages 3-19.

How Are Dragon Paper Airplanes a STEAM Activity?

Students will learn about aerodynamics and lift while experimenting with paper airplanes. Students will also learn about statistics, graphing, and certain math concepts including measuring.

For this STEAM activity, students will experiment with a variety of dragon-shaped paper airplanes. They will learn how to make paper airplanes that resemble dragons and then they will fly these airplanes. Designing and creating these dragons will stimulate the art portions of the child’s brain in addition to fine motor skills. 

As they fly these airplanes, students will measure and track different characteristics. At the end, they will determine which airplane performed the best in which category. Which design produced the best paper airplanes?

This will be determined by graphing and charting the results. Of course, students will also be able to work with statistical formulas by finding out the mean, median, mode, average, range, etc of each airplane’s performance.

Free Dragon Paper Airplane STEM Project Guide

Want the entire project planned out for you? Want detailed instructions with visuals on how to make paper dragon airplanes and printable worksheets to go along with them? We’ve done all the hard work for you – and we’re giving it away for free! Simply click here and you can get the project pack delivered straight to your inbox right now!

How to Make Dragon Paper Airplanes

If all you plan to do is make some fun paper airplanes that look like dragons, skip to the next section. But if you plan on turning this papercraft activity into a full-on STEAM activity for kids, keep reading.

Materials Needed for DIY Paper Airplane Dragon

• Paper (We don’t recommend origami paper or cardstock – printer paper is best for this activity.
• Tape measure
• Way to track data (paper and pencil, worksheet, etc)
• Calculator (optional)

Building Your Paper Airplane Dragons

• Decide how many dragon paper airplanes you plan to make. We recommend at least 3 so you can easily compare the differences in each plane and their effects on each plane’s ability to fly. I have embedded a few video tutorials below with easy-to-follow folding instructions, but feel free to search for and follow any template you like.
• In addition to the videos below, there is a fun book on Amazon that you can buy that includes 39 paper airplane instructables. Take a look at the Flying Dragons Paper Airplane Kit now! (Disclosure: as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualified purchases at no additional expense to you.)

Video Tutorials for Dragon Paper Airplanes

Here are some good quality dragon paper airplane tutorial videos we found online. They give some pretty good folding instructions that you should have an easy time following.

We did not make these videos but we enjoyed following along to them. Give them a watch and make your own origami airplane dragons out of your own sheet of paper.

and also this one…

How to Build Paper Airplane Dragons Continued…

• Make sure each person has a piece of paper for every paper airplane template you plan to follow. Remember, a plain sheet of paper (such as printer paper) is best. Origami paper will be too small and cardstock will be too thick/stiff. 
• Follow along with each set of folding instructions and make your airplane.

Experimenting with the Airplanes

• When all your airplanes (flying dragons) are completed, find a big area to test your airplanes in. We used a long hallway but you could use a great room, a basement, or even go outside if the weather is appropriate (no wind, no wetness, etc)

• Pick a starting point that you will consistently throw each airplane from. 
• Pick a category you want to track first. This could include speed, distance, number of loop-de-loops, etc. Younger students may want to stick to 1, maybe 2, categories while older students will want to test as many as they can think of.

• Make sure you have a way to track each airplane’s performance in this category (tape measure for distance, stopwatch for speed, etc).
• Throw each airplane multiple times and write down the results of each test. The more times you test, the more accurate your results will be. We recommend testing each version at a minimum of 3 times each but older students will want to up this number to 10 or more.

• Repeat with each airplane until you have tested each airplane for each category the same number of times.
• Once you have completed your tests, graph or chart your results. You can use any type of graph or chart (bar, line, pie, etc). Older students will want to make multiple graphs for more practice.
• Observe your results. Which airplane performed best in which category? Which performed the worst? Make note of these observations on your paper.

The Learning Behind Dragon Paper Airplanes

Science and Physics

How do airplanes stay in the air? When an airplane moves forward fast enough, the air moves around the plane, some above and some underneath. Air pressure above and air pressure underneath the plane lift it into the air and holds it up.

An airplane pilot can adjust its wings (including tail wings) to increase or decrease the amount of lift (air pressure) that holds the plane up. This is how airplanes take off and land. 

Math, Statistics, and Data Science

Knowing how to graph and chart data is an important skill that will serve students well throughout their entire lives. Some careers even require data science every single day.

Students should have a general idea of what a good sampling size is (the more the better for accurate results) and how to compare various pieces of data. Graphing, charting, and tracking data and results is all part of statistics. 

Art – Origami and Design

When kids explore arts and crafts, they are developing hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. They are also developing an important part of their brain. Art stimulates the part of the brain that regulates appetite control, emotion, risk calculation, impulse control, and social rules. In short, art is important for future success!

History

Origami originated in Japan in the 17th century. There is a rich history and culture behind this art form that older students will enjoy researching as part of the ‘taking it further’ portion of this lesson.

More STEM Resources for Kids (Including A Free Printable)

If you liked this activity, you are going to love the STEM Made Easy Digital Subscription. Each month, you receive a project pack that includes 5 fully planned STEM project guides along with worksheets and instructions for how to make them fun and engaging for kids ages 3-19.

Want a free project sample? Sign up to get a complete 39-page project guide sent to you so you can see exactly what’s inside each of the STEM Made Easy Digital Subscription project pack.

I’ve also got this ultimate list of STEAM and STEM activities for kids of all ages if you want to take a look.

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