Summary
In this quick Design Squad build, kids build a CD-and-balloon hovercraft that glides on a cushion of air. It's a hands-on engineering challenge — plan it, build it, test it, and make it better — that shows how a thin layer of air cuts friction so things glide.
Viewer safety
All ages
Our rating is a quick teacher-to-teacher guide — preview before showing.
Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk it over after the build:
- What problem or goal was this build trying to solve?
- What materials and shapes made it work — how a thin layer of air cuts friction so things glide?
- If you built it again, what one change would make it work even better, and why?
Quick work-a-long
Words to know: design process, prototype, constraint, test.
Try it:
- Sketch your own version of this build before you start.
- Build it, test it once, then change one thing to improve it — and test again.