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Wings of Madness
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Viewing Ideas
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Before Watching
Ask students to think of airplanes they have seen or flown in. Have them
describe the wing angles. Show pictures of planes that have different kinds of
wings. Have students brainstorm how airflow over the wing and under the wing
impacts flight. Describe for students how lift works. For a demonstration of
the Bernoulli effect, see "Lift Off!" at
www.pbs.org/nova/teachers/activities/2412_barrier.html As students watch the program, assign groups to take notes on the following topics: Santos's vision about aviation, his strengths and weaknesses as an aviation pioneer, the different flying machines he invented, and a time line of his life.
After Watching
Have students who took notes on the same topic meet, and then ask each group to
make a short presentation to the class. What was Santos's dream for aviation?
How did he design and test his ideas? How did his approach to sharing his ideas
differ the Wright Brothers' approach? What were his notable achievements? What
led to his depression and eventual suicide?
Santos was not the only scientist who would later regret his work. Provide
students with a list of scientists who came to feel the same way about their
discoveries (e.g., Alfred Nobel, Sir Henry Maxim, Dr. Benjamin Spock, and J.
Robert Oppenheimer). Form groups and assign each group a scientist to research.
How was each discovery made and used? What did the scientist come to regret
about the discovery and why? Ask groups to present findings to the class.
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