Curt Gabrielson and the crew at the Greenfield Community Science Workshop are completely dedicated to making their "Bags Full of Science" kits completely stand-alone. In other words, the kids do not need any other tools--like like hot glue guns, even scissors or tape--to complete the amazing projects. So an idea they've come up with is to use a thumb screw and wing nut to hold the spars together for the boomerang, instead of glue--an idea that evolved from their DIY yoyos.
One challenge to that idea is dihedral. With hot glue, you can put some dihedral into the wings when you glue them together. Then you can check for dihedral by spinning. I don't know how they will work that out or what their final design will be yet. In any case, check out their funny video (you don't have to speak Spanish to get it), then scroll down and check out the projects.
Boomerang Gallery
Tray DeWolf and Luise Kessel and Clapping Hands Farm
Louise Kessel runs the Clapping Hands Farm a most extraordinary, inclusive and creative day camp that engages kids in arts, nature, science projects and storytelling, in North Carolina. Clapping Hands Farm has had to move online this summer due to COVID-19, but they are still doing challenging projects like making the boomerang.
Trey, one of the camp counselors who is famous for his flying machines, has made several. He really knows how to throw it! When the tropical storm passes through he's going to get an overhead shot of the boomerang with his quadracopter. I was tickled to see that he designed a device to drop those paper helicopters from his quad; it reminds me of dropping paper gliders from wind-up dragonfly helicopters.
Dear Slater!
Oh my gosh this Toy Making on Zoom is KICKING MY BUTT!
the more technical the toy is the less fun I am having!
It's painful how MUCH slower it is to bring a group along on a project like a stomp rocket. But we DID it! And finally sent links to your instructions to mop up the stragglers.
The more open ended Arty toy projects go much more easily on Zoom.
Still, some of the more "instruction heavy" projects are such GOOD projects, and we're figuring out some stuff as we go. (I hate learning!) Next week I'm going to divvy people up into smaller groups and have a counselor teach it from beginning to end with 3-4 kids. I think that will go better.
We taught the boomerang project today! I'm having fun with mine and messing around with the airfoils and getting better at throwing. But I have a 16 year old counselor, Trey DeWolf who is a flying machine EXPERT. He builds his own remote control airplanes from scratch. He has a 3d printer in his bedroom. He's a SWEET sweet kid and WIRED for making and engineering.
Anyhow, I showed him how to make a boomerang one day in preparation for our Toy Making camp and he left our zoom call to go outside and fly it and I immedately get a text:
"Boomerang flies better than my 3-D printed one!!!! 👍"
If Trey was impressed I KNEW we had a great project!
Then he sent me this video.
I let him teach the project today. 🙂
(He's also the oldest of 6 home-schooled kids and is great at explaining things to younger kids.)
Thank you so much! For another thoroughly kid-tested "keeper" project!
