Make a Twirling Seed

Seeds are dispersed in many ways - water, animals, wind and explosion. The last two intrigues us the most as the seeds fly through the air in different ways, some even end up far away from the parent plant! While we are on the theme of flight, let's explore how "helicopter seeds" are dispersed through wind.

You will need

Twirling Seed Printable (Download here)

Scissors

Colouring materials

paperclip

Step by step

1) Print out the free printable.

2) Cut along the dotted lines.

3) Colour the "wings" of the printable. Colour the underside as well as we will flip it later. 

4) Fold the "wings" down.

5) Fold along the long bold lines.

6) Fold along the short bold lines.

7) Faster with paper clip.

8) Raise your twirling seed and let it go. Watch how it twirls!

Video instructions below. There are many seeds with winged structures. One of the most famous is the maple, which flies exactly the same way as the twirling seed you see in the video. The angsana tree, a common tree in Singapore is also dispersed by wind.

Parents can also join in the fun and experiment with different variables to find out which combination helps the twirling seed fly the furthest, stay in the air the longest, etc. Here are some variables you can try to change!

- wing length: cut or extend the length of the wing

- weight: add more paper clips

- drop height

Discover other flying objects in the Magic of Flight box here.