Paper Airplane Summer Camp Guide

Schedule

The following is our recommended schedule for a 1 week camp with 3-4 hour days. The schedule is very flexible. Each day has several different modules that you can select from. In addition, there are some optional modules that you can swap in if you want to customize your summer camp, and it would be very easy to move modules around to adapt to different formats or age groups.

Day 1 - How Do Paper Airplanes Work

• Ice Breaker Activity - Campers get to know each other with a simple paper airplane exercise.
• How Airplanes Work - Learn why airplanes fly and what the elevators, rudders and ailerons do. Campers will discover how to steer their paper airplanes and adjust them to fly straight and level.
• Distance Flying Contest - Campers participate in a fun contest to see who's paper airplane flies the furthest.
• Duration Flying Contest - Campers participate in a fun contest to see who's paper airplane stays up in the air the longest.

Day 2 - Experiments with Paper

• Experiments with Paper Size - Do tiny airplanes or very large airplanes fly better? Campers will experiment with different sizes to answer this question.
• Experiments with Paper Weight - Does lightweight paper or heavy cardstock make a better airplane? Campers experiment with different papers to figure it out.

Day 3 - Not Airplanes

• Paper Helicopters - Using a piece of paper and a pair of scissors, campers can easily make a paper helicopter that will spin as it slowly floats to the ground when dropped from a balcony or window.
• Straw Rockets - Using paper, tape and a regular drinking straw, campers can construct a small paper rocket. The rocket fits over the end of a straw and will launch across the room when the camper blows on the straw.
• Balloon Racers - Tape a small piece of straw to a balloon. Add paper wings. Now, thread this onto a string that is stretched across the room. Blow up the balloon and let it go. The air will stream out the back and push it along the string.
• Boomerangs - There are several different ways to construct a working boomerang from paper and they are safe and small enough to work indoors in a large room.
• Stomp Rockets - Campers construct rockets out of paper, cardboard and other simple materials. To launch, they stomp on a bellows which pushes air through a pipe and blasts the rocket into the sky.

Day 4 - Foam or Balsa Wood Airplanes

• Foam Board Airplanes - Foam board is great construction material that is stiffer than paper, allowing campers to make larger airplanes that fly well.
• Balsa Wood Airplanes - Balsa is a lightweight wood that is perfect for constructing airplanes. Affordable kits can be purchased that go together quickly and fly well.
• Advanced Cut and Glue Paper Airplanes - This is a different style of paper airplane where, instead of folding, you cut and glue the pieces together to make a realistic flying airplane made from paper.

Day 5 - Fun and Games

• Paper Airplane Launchers - Campers will learn how to use rubber bands, paper clips, pieces of wood and other materials to construct a mechanical paper airplane launcher.
• Hoops and Runway Throwing Contest - Campers will attempt to throw their paper airplanes through hoops or land them accurately on a runway.
• Paper Airplane Bingo - A random paper airplane challenge is pulled from a bag and campers must complete the challenge in order to mark off their square. Get five in a row to be the winner.
• Pin the Tail on the Airplane - In this variation of the classic "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" party game, players take turns trying to put the tail (or propeller) back in the correct spot.
• Flying Relay Race - Teams throw a paper airplane to their teammate on the other side of a field. They catch the airplane and throw it back. This is a fun, active game that gives the campers a little exercise.
• Paper Airplane Golf - The paper airplane is the golf ball. Use a bucket as the hole. Everyone starts at the same spot and attempts to get their paper airplane into the hole with the fewest number of throws. Setup multiple holes with different obstacles.
• Tic-Tac-Throw - Players take turns throwing their paper airplane at the 3x3 playing board. If it lands inside one of the 9 boxes, that spot gets claimed. The first person to get three in a row is the winner!
• Paper Airplane Olympics - The goal of this game is to throw your paper airplane through the Olympic rings to collect each color. The paper pilot with the most unique rings in their collection at the end of the contest is the winner.

Extra Optional Modules

• Paper Airplane Logic and Word Puzzles - Paper airplane themed crossword and wordsearch puzzles as well as interesting math and logic puzzles will keep even the smartest campers scratching their head.
• Decorating Your Airplanes - Provide pens, markers and other craft supplies for campers to decorate their paper airplanes.
• Accuracy Contest - The goal is to throw your paper airplane as close as possible to a target. Points are awarded for how close you get.
• Walk Along Gliders - A walk along glider is a paper airplane that can be kept aloft forever because it surfs on a wave of air created by the camper who walks behind it with a big piece of cardboard.
• Paper Airplane History and World Records - A short presentation can be given about the history of paper airplanes and related paper airplane world records.