Label: Paper Airplanes

January 5, 2016

As anyone who has read my PAPER AIRPLANE BOOK knows, I love folding and flying paper airplanes. I’ve been doing it since the days when I was teaching middle school science and teaching about the properties of air.

This video captures one of the best paper airplane flights I have ever seen. Look how the plane rides the air currents, slowly, slowly down to the ground.

Enjoy the video, but remember, you should never try this at home (nor should you ever go near an open window).

Be patient while the video loads below. If you are using a tablet you may not be able to see this video. Try it on a desktop computer.

December 10, 2012

We received this great message and photo from a class this week:

After reading Seymour Simon’s PAPER AIRPLANE BOOK, grade 5 students on the Caribbean island of Curaçao decided to launch their own. Students designed their own models and some followed the plans of Pilot Simon himself. After we tested each model, students were eager to make changes and try again.

Isn’t that great? I have always loved flying paper airplanes, and I think most students do, too. If you would like to try, I have posted a paper airplane pattern that you can get you started. Click here for the free download.

March 23, 2012

As many of my readers know, I love to fold and fly paper airplanes. I have been doing it my whole life. But a 45-foot (13.7 meter) long, 800-pound (363 Kg) paper airplane? That is a little excessive, even for me!

A few months ago, Arizona’s Pima Air and Space Museum sponsored a paper airplane flying contest for kids. Hundreds of kids came, and their enthusiasm inspired the aerospace engineers at the museum to launch the Great Paper Airplane Project!

Their project was completed on Wednesday, when a helicopter lifted the giant paper airplane high above the Arizona desert and then released it. The paper airplane flew at a speed of 98 miles (158 km) per hour. Now THAT is a paper airplane. I wish I had been there!

Photo: Joshua Lott / Reuters

Learn how to fold your own paper airplanes with Seymour Simon’s classic PAPER AIRPLANE BOOK.

Click here to download a free paper airplane pattern to print and fold!

March 10, 2012

Look at these great notes from Mrs. Sposito’s first graders at Menands School!

Hi, Seymour Simon,

I went on your blog. I went on Kids. I saw paper airplanes and I made one by myself.    From:  Alexa

We loved your presentation. My favorite book was Earthquakes. I like the videos you made. Thank you for coming to Menands School.   From: Mady

I love that video you showed us. That one with the paper airplane. You sure are a good book writer! I hope you can make more books and come back when ever you can!    From: Toby

How was your day, Seymour Simon was it good or great? My favorIte part was  when we all took a picture.      From: Abbi

I think you write a lot of books. Do you write nonfiction and fiction?    From: Sabrina 

It was a pleasure to meet you, we had lots of fun. I thought the paper airplane was cool. How did you throw that long? Your books are the best I ever read.    From: Reem

I like your Shark book, your Baby Animals book and your Bats book. I like when you threw the paper airplane out the window.   From: E-Sonne

Thanks for coming to our school. Why do you write books? Do you like books? you are the best author! Why did you start writing in second grade? Why do you like animals? Are animals your favorite things? Why do you write nonfiction?      From: Aditi

Thank you for sharing your books. We love your books. We had a great time reading them. Thank you for coming. I loved your video.    From: Roshni

January 29, 2012

One of Seymour Simon’s first books, THE PAPER AIRPLANE BOOK, is still one of his most popular, with kids AND adults. A few years ago, when we were designing his website, we came up with the idea of making a paper airplane pattern - a piece of paper with folding instructions - for readers to download. "Let me take a picture of you dressed up like an aviator, flying a paper airplane," I said to Seymour. "We can put the photograph on the pattern so that when kids fold it, your photo will be on the wings. It will be a Seymour Plane!"

You have seen the drawing of Snoopy when he’s pretending to pilot a fighter plane, right? I thought that was exactly the right look for the Seymour Plane! I dug through my drawers and pulled out a white silk scarf, and found a pair of swimming goggles on the shelf in the garage. Seymour, always willing to be silly for the sake of science, put it all on, folded his airplane and we snapped this photograph. 

When Seymour visits schools, like he did this week, he always talks about paper airplanes and shows kids his silly photo.

After his visit to the elementary school in Center Moriches, NY, we received this letter from a mother named Christine Buff. Christine wrote:  

My twin sons, Spencer and Stephen, LOVED your visit. Thank you for making such an amazing impression on two 5-year-old boys. They are in Mrs. Engelhardt’s Kindergarten class.  Spencer came home telling us all about your paper airplane book and that we could go onto your dot.com and visit you on FACEBOOK!  We made our airplanes last night.  We have airplanes flying all over my house and Spencer wanted me to write you to tell you his did a loop-de-loop! He also wanted to know why we did not have your train book!!  They are BIG train fans.  Off to borrow from the library! 

Don’t they look just like Seymour?! That is Stephen on the left and Spencer on the right. How great to see them with their paper airplanes, scarves and goggles! We now declare Spencer and Stephen official members of the Paper Airplane Club!

July 22, 2010

We recently completed the Teacher Guide to accompany Seymour’s enduring hit, THE PAPER AIRPLANE BOOK. First published nearly forty years ago, this book is now in its 28^th printing and continues to delight kids and parents alike.

The Teacher Guides always include a reproducible activity page for kids, and for this one, we decided to include a pattern and special sheet of paper for kids to make a “Seymour Plane” – once they fold it, they have a paper airplane with his image on the wings! Hence this wacky photo.

Download the guide and try it yourself. Aerodynamics has never been this much fun!