Green Acres School

Eighth grade science students were given the use of supplies including plywood cut into 6-7 foot diameter, plastic covering, duct tape, screws, saws, a leaf blower, and a staple gun to build a hovercraft. They had to make a variety of informed engineering design decisions. The final product – a platform with a chair – was set in motion when the nozzle of a leaf blower forced air into a hole on the platform. All that remained was a trusting classmate to climb aboard for a ride while classmates scrutinized the hovercraft’s success.

The hovercraft ride gave students a chance to understand speed, resistance, momentum, how friction affection motion, and how mass affects the acceleration to better understand Newton’s laws. Eighth graders built their hovercrafts in groups and conducted tests for the optimal size and placement of air holes to reduce friction as they were riding on them. The air flowing underneath the hovercraft forms a cushion of air that causes it to rise off the ground by reducing friction. Because the hovercraft puts a very small amount of pressure on the surface over which it rides, it can be flown over mud, short grass, sand, water, ice, snow, or pavement.

In working on hovercrafts students honed critical thinking, teambuilding, decision-making, communication, and leadership skills. Who knows? Perhaps the exercise inspired a budding engineer to imagine future modes of transportation.