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On Saturday February 9, 2013 my daughter and her friend helped me build a hovercraft. In just two hours we were floating across the floor!
We started with one 4'x4' piece of plywood (4 ply) that is 1/2 inch thick.
Lift is provided by my old electric TORO leaf blower. I prefer electric over gas power because I use this hovercraft indoors with students.
For the hovercraft to move forward it must be pushed (or pulled). For this reason, some people jokingly call this a "shovercraft".
The hovercraft worked great on the cement floor of the warehouse. It did not work well outside on asphalt (pavement).
After building the hovercraft my daughter asked if we could bring it to her school for "show and tell". Here are a few photos from that trip...
I've since shared this hovercraft with students in many schools. I usually lead a lesson on the science behind hovercrafts. One of the schools I visited is AJ Whittenberg Elementary School of Engineering located in Greenville, South Carolina. Read an article about this amazing school in The Atlantic CLICK HERE
The workshop starts with a discussion comparing Engineering and Science. We then discuss the Engineering Design Process and compare it to the Scientific Method. Then we discuss friction and determine if it is good or bad. This leads to a discussion about hovercrafts, friction, and "lift". Then we start building mini hovercrafts out of old CDs and balloons.
We then discuss the difference between "lift" and "thrust" -- both are critical for hovercraft locomotion. Students experiment with a balloon as it provides thrust.
With an understanding of lift and thrust it's time to ride the big hovercraft powered by a leaf blower.
At the end of the day I led a 60 minute workshop for the teaching staff on "How To Teach Leadership in the Engineering Classroom". This is a fun, experiential workshop that got the teachers talking about leadership and teamwork in their classroom. My professional work centers around supporting the growth of team and leadership development which I do at my website www.TeachMeTeamwork.com
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