Ages 4-7 · child and adult
Parachute: a soft landing for the crew
Make a paper-napkin parachute and land a paper passenger on a marked landing area.
Set your own pace. Preparation depends on your materials.
What to gather
- Paper napkin
- Four equal strings, about 20 cm each
- Tape and a large crumpled paper ball
- Paper for a landing area
Keeping it safe No plastic bags. Keep strings away from the body. An adult releases while standing on the floor, never from windows, stairs or furniture.
Choose a challenge level
Ages 4-5
The child chooses the landing area; the adult holds and releases the parachute.Ages 6-7
Change only the canopy size. Keep the passenger, strings and height the same and compare several drops.Step-by-step instructions
Tape one string to each corner of the napkin. Reinforce each attachment with another piece of tape.
Tape the loose ends around four sides of the paper ball. Hold the canopy centre and check that the passenger hangs evenly and strings are untangled.
An adult releases the open parachute from chest height. Compare it with an identical paper ball without a parachute, released from the same height.
TATAAA
Now turn it into a game
Rescue crew: draw a large island and try landing the paper passenger on it. Change the release position, not the height.
When it gets tricky
Flipping over? Equalise the strings, lighten the passenger and open the canopy before releasing. Compare opening and direction of fall rather than timing it with a stopwatch.
When an experiment goes wrongWhen you are done
You compare two drops and describe whether the canopy opened.
If your child does not want to continue, it is fine to stop. You can safely swap roles or adapt the rules.
What to notice
An open canopy creates more air resistance than the ball alone. Passenger mass and canopy opening also affect the fall.
