Make a Parachute

Build your own parachute using Leonardo da Vinci's design for the first ever parachute. It looks like a pyramid! Here’s how.

  1. Take a sheet of fairly stiff paper 30 cm long and 16cm wide.
    Fold it in half.
  2. Open it out and draw a line 1cm from the long edge to the middle fold.
  3. Cut off this section and fold back the remaining piece – it’s a tab so that you can glue your parachute together.
  4. Now fold it along the diagonal - from corner to corner.
  5. Open it out like a book and measure 15cm up from the centre fold. The diagram will show you exactly where to measure.
  6. Now join up the points then cut out your shape.
  7. Fold it into a pyramid shape and glue it into place.
  8. Make a small hole near each corner at the base.
  9. Now tie strings, each the same length, to each hole.

You’ve made the Leonardo Da Vinci parachute! Test it by attaching a weight (a piece of egg carton makes a good basket for the weight) to the strings and throwing it up into the air.

Experiment with different types of material.
Does newspaper or card or plastic carrier bag work better?
How can you measure this?

Write up a report of your investigation of different materials.

  • Can you imagine you are Leonardo da Vinci?
  • Find an illustration which shows you how he might have worked.
  • Can you write out his thoughts as he designed his parachute?
  • What did he know at that time?
  • What materials were available for making his parachute?
  • What tools could he use?
  • Did he have scissors?
  • Can you illustrate your writing and make it look “old”?


If you want to learn more about Leonardo da Vinci's designs and inventions click here to go to the British Library's webpage on their Leonardo da Vinci Exhibition .

Text and graphics courtesy of The Flight Experience Sponsored by Bombardier Aerospace.