How People Learned to Fly

How People Learned to Fly

When you see a bird flying, do you dream about flying too?

Do you run with your arms out, imagining that you're soaring among the clouds? Do you make paper airplanes? Do you fly kites? If you do, you aren't alone. For thousands of years, people have dreamed of being able to fly.

They watched birds and bats soar. They imagined people and other animals that could fly and told stories about them.

They designed machines that they thought would be able to fly. They had many ideas. As they tried each new idea, they learned a lot.

They learned about gravity. Gravity is the force that keeps everything on Earth's surface. Because of gravity, things have weight. If there were no gravity, people, dogs, cats, and everything else would go floating off into space. Gravity keeps us on the ground, even if we would rather be flying.