Airplanes & Aircraft

Whether it1s an automobile, airplane, balloon, or space craft, you1ll find it here. You can follow the history of aviation from the first ballon flight all the way to the space age or find out how a car engine works.

Resources in this category:

Amazing Paper Airplanes
http://www.amazingpaperairplanes.com/Favorites.html

Want to make some cool paper airplanes? This is the site for you. All of the "Favorite" airplanes have folding and cutting instructions. These are neat, but they aren't easy, so you might want some help!

Balloon Zone
http://www.balloonzone.com/

This site explains how a balloon is put together, and also ncludes a short history of hot air ballooning and many photographs.

Be a Spacecraft Engineer
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom/jason/index2.html

"NASA needs your help! As part of an international coalition, it has begun building the International Space Station. But the Space Station is threatened by orbital debris, abandoned satellites, rocket remnants, and many other things. Can you design a spacecraft to protect the Space Station from this 'space junk'?"

Flight
http://pbskids.org/wayback/flight/

The history of flight is yours to explore. Meet pilots and inventors, like the Wright Brothers; fly with daring barnstormers; and learn about the early days of air mail.

Flight Over Four Corners
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/96/fourcorners/fo...

"Soar above the American Southwest with Adriel Heisey, a photographer so determined to get a birds-eye view that he built his own aircraft."

Hot Air Balloons
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ls/balloons/index.html

"Take a Hot Air Balloon Cyber-Ride!" On this site you can read about ballooning adventures, explore the science and history of hot air balloons, and find science projects about balloons.

How Things Fly
http://www.nasm.si.edu/education/pubs/howthingsfly.pdf

What makes an airplane fly? How does a spacecraft stay in orbit? Why does a baloon float in the air? To find out, visit this website and learn how things fly. Requires Adobe Reader to view.

Human Space Flight
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/index.html

Check out videos, graphics, and other information on space stations, space shuttles, exploration to Mars, and much more.

Learn2 Understand How Airplanes Work
http://www.tutorials.com/07/0742/0742.asp

"How can a 100-ton hunk of metal fly through the air as if it were weightless? Discover the nuts-and-bolts principles that make the miracle of flight possible."

More To Color
http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/coloring/more/morecolor.h...

Color and find out about NASA satellites at this site. (You will need a Java-enabled browser.)

San Diego Aerospace Museum
http://www.AerospaceMuseum.org/

This site has short online exhibits about the history of flight from 1783 right into the space age.

The Science of Ballooning
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/balloon/science/

This site for the NOVA/PBS episode, "Balloon Race," has a history of hot-air balloons, a look at how balloons stay up in the air, and the story of a flight team's attempt to fly around the world.

Solar System Simulator
http://samadhi.jpl.nasa.gov/

The Solar System Simulator will show you a picture of any planet or moon as it would look if you were standing on another planet or traveling with one of the NASA space probes.

Space and Astronomy for Kids
http://space.about.com/od/educationastronomyspace/a/kidsastr...

This site will help you use the Internet to learn fun things about space and space travel, including the Moon, the Solar System, and People in Space.

Space Coloring Book Home Page
http://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/color.html

An advanced coloring book for elementary students with pictures and information on the space shuttle, living in space, space suits and more!