Leonardo DaVinci was fascinated by flight. He would consistently pay vendors for their birds in order to set them free and watch them fly. Endless sketches of wings (bird, bat and mechanics) and detailed observations of flight helped Leonardo to come up with his own machines to help man fly.

The unit of flight will begin by looking at the quest to fly that man has had for millennia, and that Leonardo exemplified in his work. By studying his observations and designs, along with flight principles known today, students will understand both why man wants to fly and how he is now able to do so.

Extension activities: Field Trips to Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Space Port and Calgary International Airport and Hawks Helicopter.


Topic A: Air and Aerodynamics
  • Describe properties of air and the interactions of air with objects in flight

Topic B: Flight

  • Construct devices that move through air, and identify adaptations for controlling flight.

Topic C: Sky

  • Observe, describe and interpret the movement of objects in the sky; and identify pattern and order in these movements

© T. Green and K. McKie 2002