Program Overview
The Glider Challenge has been designed to supplement the curriculum of teachers and is intended for eighth-grade students whose teachers are using a multidisciplinary approach. Like all AWIM challenges, the Glider Challenge will join together teachers, students, and industry volunteers in an exploration of physical science while addressing essential mathematic and scientific concepts and skills.
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In the Glider Challenge a fictitious publishing company called Mobility Press contacts the students in a letter which explains that it wants to publish a book of designs for gliding toys that children of ages 8-12 can build with assistance from an adult. The company invites the class to submit a manuscript that includes drawings and plans for building the gliders, as well as instructions for how to fly them and a description of how they work. Student design teams design two products: a gliding toy and a set of book pages that describe how to build and fly the toy. Over the course of the eight weeks, a variety of activities prepare the students to develop a prototype gliding toy and a book manuscript. The challenge culminates in a book-signing event, in which the class presents its book and student design teams present their gliding-toy prototypes.
Kit Components
Kit Availability
To order a Glider Challenge classroom materials kit submit the Glider Kit Order Form*.
In order to further promote science, technology, engineering & math (STEM) education, SAE International provides a limited number of complimentary classroom kits to teachers that qualify. Currently the cost of a Glider Kit is $120 plus shipping and handling. The application below outlines the process of
applying for a complimentary kit.
