Lily D

Girl Reporter

Over the years, women rights have came a long way. In the past women and men did not have the same privileges to do all of the same things. For example, until 1917, only men could join the military. Another example is aviation. Aviation is “anything that flies such as birds and airplanes,” explained Malorie, one of the participants. Many women and girls don’t know a lot about aviation and that is why GSSGC had an event called Aviation STEM night to teach girls about aviation.

At this event we learned about two amazing women in aviation’s history, attempted to build four different airplane models, and learned about the four forces of flight. Amelia Earhart and Jacqueline Cochran were amazing pilots. Amelia was the first woman to fly across the Pacific Ocean and Jacqueline won the most flight competitions.

The four airplane models we tried were paper planes, hoop planes, popsicle stick planes, and a high glider. The paper planes flew about one and half feet, these were the easiest to make because all you do is fold the piece of paper. The next type of airplane were the hoop planes. To make these planes, you take a straw and two different measurements of paper and shape the paper to look like hoops and then tape them to the straw, these didn’t go very far at all, only half a foot. Popsicle stick planes were the heaviest of them all, resulting in a short flying distance. To make them you just tape or glue popsicle sticks together in whatever shape you want. High gliders were the best at flying because it flew two feet!  To make this type of airplane you just get two pieces of paper and four pieces of string about five inches long. You’re then going to put hole punch the paper on the corners and tie the string to the other end of the string you put a toy of some sort.

The four forces of flight are lift, drag, thrust, and weight. Lift is important because it picks up the plane, keeps it up, and moves it to a different position. Drag is the opposite of lift but it’s just as important because it pulls down on the plane which balances out the lift. Thrust pushes the plane forward and includes the engine. The last of the four forces of flight is weight. Weight pulls back on the plane and balances out the thrust.

When participants were asked why they went to aviation STEM night, Daisy said “I’m interested in aviation and my mom signed me up.” Would you recommend aviation STEM night to friends and family was the next question and everyone who was asked said yes. “It was fun and educational” exclaimed Malorie with excitement. Daisy said “We got to learn all about Amelia Earhart, Jacqueline Cochran, the forces of flight, and how to make planes out of different materials.”

My favorite part of this event was how we learned many ways to make airplanes that we can make easily at home.  So, now when I am bored at home, I can experiment with so many different models of planes to see which fly better than others. The goal of this STEM night was to enjoy learning about aviation, so maybe we will consider that job field. This event was so interesting and fun that I would highly recommend it to anyone!