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Wings of Madness
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Viewing Ideas
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Before Watching
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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
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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
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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?
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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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