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Why do geese fly in a V?

Weekly Quest No. 3 · Flying South. A goose-formation game, a paper glider test, a handprint flock and a stamp card. JK to Grade 8, 20–40 minutes.
A flock of geese flying in a clear V formation high against a plain blue sky.
A flock of geese flying in a clear V formation high against a plain blue sky.

WEEKLY QUEST · No. 3 · FLYING SOUTH

MoveMakeExplore20–40 minutesJK–Grade 8Science · Math

Explore: read this aloud

Four-frame comic: a goose seen from above with air swirling off each wingtip; a goose seen from behind with air pushed down behind it and up beyond each wingtip; a second goose flying behind and to the side of the leader, riding the rising air; a V of five geese with an arrow looping from the front to the back.

When a bird flaps, air swirls off the tip of each wing. Just behind and beside the wingtip, that air is pushed upward. A goose flying in that spot gets a little lift for free, so it doesn't have to work as hard. The goose at the front gets no free lift, so it works hardest. Birds in a V take turns at the front. The V is teamwork: everyone saves energy by sharing the hard job.

The whoa moment: The goose at the front gets no free lift, so birds in a V take turns leading. In a study of ibises, each bird spent about as much time leading as following.

What's in the Quest

Move: Goose Formation

  1. Make a V. One leader stands at the point.
  2. Flap and fly. Follow the leader's turns.
  3. Anyone calls "Switch!" The leader flies to the back.
  4. Keep going until everyone has led.

Weather swap: Rainy? Fly your V down a hallway or around the kitchen table.

Make: Glider Test

  1. Fold two paper planes, exactly the same.
  2. On one, bend the wing tips up 1 cm.
  3. Guess first: which will fly farther?
  4. Throw each 5 times from one spot. Measure.

Good to know: Throws vary a lot, even for the same plane. That's normal, and it's why you throw 5 times. Throw gently and level, the same way each time.

Make: Handprint Flock

  1. Trace your hand on paper.
  2. Thumb = head. Fingers = a wing.
  3. Cut it out. Make one for each person.
  4. Glue them in a V on page 4.

Good to know: Overlap the hands if they don't fit, just like a real, crowded flock.

For the littlest (JK and SK)

Be a little goose: flap behind a grown-up, and honk when it's your turn to lead.

★ Go further (Grades 6–8, or anyone who wants more)

Learn how a flapping wing leaves swirling air behind it, and what tracking studies of ibises and pelicans found about saving energy in a V. Then run a fair test on paper gliders with winglets of 0, 1 and 2 cm, throw each five times, work out the average and the spread, and connect it to the winglets on airliners.

Safety: Fly on open ground, away from roads and water. Throw planes away from faces. A grown-up helps little ones cut. Watch real geese from a distance.

Pick one, or do them all. Any order. Then stamp the card: I moved · I made · I explored · I told someone what I found.

What the pages look like

Page 2 of the printable: My Goose Watch

Four printable pages: the grown-up page with every step, a record page, a Go further page in field-notes style, and a make page with the stamp card.

Curious Kite · All Quests · Change the method. Not the child.