For our Makers of History: Native American Heritage Month session, we learned about Mary Riddle (1902-1981), a pilot and performing parachutist. She was one of the first Native American women to earn a pilot’s license.

In this session, kids engaged in a demonstration were we dropped objects from a certain height and guessed which object would hit the ground first. We dropped a crumpled-up coffee filter at the same time as a flat, unfolded coffee filter. The crumpled-up coffee filter hit the ground before the unfolded coffee filter, which glided to the ground more slowly. We talked about why this happened using terms like air resistance and surface area. After our demonstration, we discussed what type of materials and what designs we might use to create effective parachutes. Kids then used materials like paper, thread, yarn, tape, tissue paper, and more to create parachutes that teen volunteers would drop from up high on a step stool. Kids worked with teen volunteers to tweak their designs and create parachutes that would more slowly bring their paper cups safely to the ground.

Check out the full presentation here to learn about Mary Riddle and parachutes and see photos of what our wonderful participants created!

~Lisa Jenkins, Youth Services Librarian