Explore the history of flight with your family on Wednesday, August 19, during National Aviation Day!
In 1939, National Aviation Day was established by President Franklin Roosevelt as a way to celebrate the achievements of intrepid pioneers of early aviation. On this day each year, we are all invited to explore flight and learn more about how this revolution in technology came to be – and how air travel continues to change today!
Check out this video from PBS LearningMedia and the All About the Holidays Collection created to inspire an interest in design, engineering, and exploration, and featuring a look back on aviation history.
Celebrate with hands-on fun
Cardboard Box Airplane
Take flight! Make an airplane from a cardboard box for a simple and incredibly fun way to engage in imaginative play with your child.
Make Straw Paper Airplanes
With just a few straws, some construction paper, scissors, and tape, you and your child can make a paper airplane that looks…absolutely ridiculous!… but flies so well that the whole family will be trying to come up with the ultimate flier.
Paper Mache Airplane
Reuse an old plastic bottle by turning it into a magnificent airplane.
PBS LearningMedia resources
For more resources on how and when airplanes got their start, who some of the most famous early aviators were, and how studying engineering and aerodynamics help get us off the ground, click the links below to learn more!
The Airplane’s Family Tree: From the Wright Brothers to Today | STEM in 30 (Grades 4-8) – Did you know that the parts of airplanes today can be traced directly back to the Wright Flyer and the work of Orville and Wilbur Wright? Join STEM in 30 as we trace the family tree of the airplane from that first flight on December 17, 1903, to today.
Aerodynamics: What Causes Lift? (Grades 6-12) – Bernoulli’s principle, an important principle of fluid dynamics, is often used to explain what causes lift, the upward force that keeps an airplane or glider in flight. This media-enhanced essay from NOVA presents an additional explanation of lift, based on Newton’s third law of motion.
Challenge of Flight (Grades 7-12) – Examine the forces that act on an airplane in flight, the motions a pilot controls, and the design process engineers use to develop airplanes that manage these flight conditions, in this interactive produced by WGBH and The Documentary Group.
Amelia Earhart | Aviator, Record-breaker, and Activist (Grades 3-7) – Amelia Earhart was a pioneer of early aviation, courageously flying airplanes at a time when the risks were high. Equally bold was her pursuit of a career as a woman in a non-traditional field. Learn about Earhart’s passion for flying and determination to succeed as a female aviator.
Milestones of Flight: The Lindberghs | STEM in 30 (Grades 5-8) – Charles Lindbergh is probably best known for making the first solo flight across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis. However, Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, also reached other milestones in aviation. This episode of STEM in 30 explores the Lindberghs’ aviation-related accomplishments.
Bessie Coleman | Unladylike2020 (Grades 7-12) – Explore how Bessie Coleman became the first female black pilot and the first African American to hold an international license to fly during the era of Jim Crow – a time when it seemed impossible – laying the groundwork for future African American pilots.