Wings of imagination: the paper plane showdown at STEAM FEST

The Department of Science and Environmental Studies (SES) is dedicated to promoting an integrated approach to learning the five STEAM disciplines — science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. As one of its many initiatives to achieve this goal, SES organised a half-day “STEAM FEST” at EdUHK’s Tai Po campus on 7 July 2024. Students from 28 primary schools enhanced their STEAM knowledge through two workshops before participating in the paper airplane competition of the festival. It reached an apex when eight school teams competed in the final round of the competition for the championship and other creativity and design awards.

Dr Patrick Lam Hak-chung, Chief Principal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong (ELCHK) Lutheran Academy, and Ms Agnes Man Mei-sum from SES officiated the opening ceremony. Dr Patrick Lam, who is an avid supporter of SES in STEAM education, said: “STEAM education equips students with the knowledge to cope with the challenges brought about by the rapid advancements of science and technology, as well as the challenges faced by the global economy and future society.” A firm believer in the importance of global and STEAM education, Dr Lam has initiated the establishment of an aerospace laboratory at his school to enhance students' understanding of satellite communications, and provide a means for students to explore and experiment.

Ms Agnes Man Mei-sum from SES pointed out that the workshops, exhibition, and competition at the festival highlighted the importance of an integrated and hands-on approach to STEAM education. “Such an approach motivates students to learn STEAM through experimenting, hence raising the effectiveness of learning,” she said. In her opening remarks, Ms Man thanked the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers for co-organising the event.

STEAM FEST held two workshops for students from 28 participating schools: one about the making of paper airplanes and the other about how to make and record scientific observations. After the workshops, a paper airplane competition was organised as the final test on how well primary school students could apply what they had learnt from the workshops.

At the paper airplane workshop of “STEAM FEST”, students learnt the science of flight including the four fundamental forces of flight: lift, gravity (weight), drag, and thrust. They also learnt how factors like streamlined design, generation of lifting force and reduction of friction can affect flying performance. Students learnt about the concepts of controlled, independent, and dependent variables and how to apply these concepts when designing experiments to determine how different factors affect flight.

Canossa Primary School was one of the 28 schools which joined the “STEAM FEST” on 7 July. Ms Chan Wing-yee, Primary School Mistress (Curriculum Development) at her school who led her students to join the festival, stated that Canossa Primary School has used paper airplanes to teach general studies for several years. “Scientific exploration is about discovering of cause-and-effect relationships in nature. We teach our students they need to alter one variable at a time to isolate how that variation causes changes in the outcome of the experiment. This is the fairness of experiment,” Ms Chan explained. She continued that by changing design parameters of the plane, such as altering the weight attached to a part of the plane, students learn how an independent variable affects flight distance, trajectory, and stability of airplanes.

Since 2019, Ms Chan’s school has worked closely with SES to promulgate STEAM education through government-sponsored Quality Education Fund Thematic Network project. She mentioned that through paper airplane making, her students learn science in an interactive manner. “They raise questions related to the physics of paper plane construction. They discuss how to optimise the flight performance by varying plane’s shape and weight, and launch angle. They explore scientific concepts in a fun and engaging manner,” said Ms Chan.

At the science activity workshop, students used microscopes to explore the microscopic world. They observed different mineral salts and sugars, such as sea salt, Himalayan rock salt, and brown sugar through a microscope, recording the shapes, sizes, and colours of the observed objects. In the second part of the workshop, students made observations about the stomatal pores of plants and how plants use these pores to breathe.

“At these workshops, students learnt the ideas of variables in scientific explorations. They also acquired basic techniques about how to operate instruments, process samples, collect data, record observations, and propose a hypothesis to explain a phenomenon. Through this hands-on work and experiments, students gained a feel for scientific investigations. We hope the workshops have ignited students’ interest in natural sciences,” Ms Man added.

At the final challenge of the paper airplane competition held after the workshops, each school team applied the aerodynamic principles learnt from previous workshops to design and make a paper airplane. When making their planes, students needed to consider factors like the position of the centre of gravity of the plane, wing design, and the balance between lift and drag. “They tried different ways to fold an airplane, and refined them to achieve the best results. The throwing techniques also matter if you want your paper airplane to soar high and reach maximum distance,” Ms Man remarked.

The climax of the day came when eight out of 54 teams competed in the final round of the paper airplane competition. In addition to awarding the team whose plane flew the farthest, awards were also given to planes that demonstrated creativity and beauty in their designs. “Everyone, irrespective of whether they won or lost in the final round, found the competition full of excitement and fun. As the organiser, I was amazed by their seriousness in designing and creating a plane that glides the farthest distance possible. Indeed, simple paper airplanes follow the same fundamental scientific principles that keep large aircraft airborne. The primary school kids worked like ‘avionics engineers’ to meet their challenges,” Ms Man said.

“The core idea of STEAM education is to teach different STEAM subjects in an interconnected manner. I am delighted that STEAM FEST has successfully brought this message home. Making a paper airplane involves physics and engineering knowledge, it also requires students to measure and calculate. There is an aesthetic requirement too. To tackle all the technical and design problems for making a paper plane, students need to apply knowledge in all five STEAM subjects creatively. This exemplifies how STEAM education fosters interdisciplinary learning and cultivates a diverse skill set that is highly valued in today’s world,” Professor Keith Ho Wing-kei, Head of SES, said.

Please click here to read the article about the STEAM Conference and Beyond.