Junior Jumbo: a 747 through a child's eyes

A giant aircraft is a good place to start asking questions. These activities combine making, observing and explaining, with printable sheets for time away from a screen.

06 / Junior Jumbo

Big aircraft. Small discoveries.

Colour a jumbo, build a tabletop model and discover how a simple fold can make paper stronger.

Colour your airline

Invent a name, a tail symbol and a destination.

Download colouring sheet

Look inside

Find the people, bags and fuel inside the aircraft.

Download cutaway sheet

Build a paper jumbo

Use light card, scissors and glue. Ask an adult to help cut out the parts. This is a display model, not a flying glider.

Download model template

The paper-wing experiment

You need two books, two equal sheets of paper and a few identical coins.

1. Set the books a hand’s width apart.
2. Lay a flat sheet across the gap. Add coins, one at a time, until it sags.
3. Fold the second sheet into a concertina, like a fan. Bridge the same gap and repeat.

Prediction: which shape will hold more coins?

Coins held by flat paper Coins held by folded paper Compare my results

Record both results after your experiment.

Keep paper, gap and coin size the same. The experiment explores structural shape, not aerodynamic lift. Keep coins away from small children.

Print the downloaded SVG sheets from a browser at “fit to page” on A4 or Letter. The illustrations are original simplified drawings.

Junior flight school

What gives the 747 most of its lift?

For families and classrooms

The colouring sheet is open-ended. The cutaway introduces the aircraft's main spaces. The paper model is a tabletop craft requiring scissors, glue and adult help. All three downloads use original simplified artwork and fit either A4 or Letter paper when printed from a browser.

Try a fair test

The paper experiment changes one thing: the sheet's shape. Keep the paper, gap between the books and coins the same. Count what happens rather than aiming for a particular score. If the result surprises you, repeat it and compare. Folded paper explores structural stiffness; it does not demonstrate how a wing creates lift.

NASA's explanation of the four forces is a useful next step for older children. The myths lab adds moving diagrams of flexibility, steering and flight.

Explore all 747 tools and experiences →