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The Air Trail: Where Should I Start Learning About Air?

The Air Trail is a learning path through the Kids Zone. Start at Rookie, move on to Pro, and finish at Expert. Each stop is one page, in order.

Talon, your Wing Force guide
Talon says“Not sure where to start? Follow the trail with me!”

Think of it like a hiking trail. You can walk it in one afternoon or one stop a day. Print this page, or copy the stops onto paper, and tick each box when you finish a stop. Paper remembers for you.

How the trail works

  1. Read one stop.
  2. Do the “Try it” if there is one, with a grown-up.
  3. Answer the stop’s trail question out loud or on paper.
  4. Tick the box and tell someone one thing you learned.

Rookie stops

These are the big ideas. If you only do one part of the trail, do this one.

Rookie badge: Finished stops 1-5? Draw yourself a Rookie badge on paper. You know that an air conditioner is a heat mover. That is the biggest idea on the whole trail.

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Pro stops

Now follow the air through the machine, one part at a time.

Pro badge: Finished stops 6-12? You can name the parts of a home cooling system and tell what each one does. Draw your Pro badge.

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Expert stops

Experts connect the science to weather, history and real jobs.

Expert badge: Finished all 18 stops? You could teach a whole class about home air. Draw your Expert badge and teach one fact to someone in your family tonight.

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Trail answers (no peeking until you try!)

Rookie answers
  1. No. Cold is just less heat. You can only take heat away.
  2. Outside, carried by the refrigerant and blown away by the outside unit’s fan.
  3. From water vapor in the air that turned into drops on the cold cup.
  4. The AC pulls water out of your house air, and a drain line carries it outside.
  5. Answers will vary. Examples: the attic, the outside unit, the electrical panel, the furnace or machine closet.
Pro answers
  1. It catches dust, fur and lint before they reach the machine.
  2. Fins give the air more metal to touch, so more heat can move.
  3. Water takes heat with it when it evaporates, and the fan speeds that up.
  4. Warm air spreads out, gets lighter and rises.
  5. Even cold air has some heat. The outside coil is colder still, so heat flows into it.
  6. A switch inside the machine flipping on.
  7. Answers will vary. Fluffy, air-filled materials usually win.
Expert answers
  1. It squeezes the refrigerant, which makes it hot and high pressure so it can give heat away outside.
  2. Usually the hottest summer months, often July and August in Austin.
  3. A “feels like” number that combines temperature and humidity.
  4. Examples: thermometers, gauges, a vacuum, a flashlight, screwdrivers, a fin comb.
  5. Answers will vary.
  6. Willis Carrier, in 1902. He was trying to control humidity at a printing company so paper wouldn’t wrinkle.

My trail log

Write the date you finished each level.

Rookie finished on:

Pro finished on:

Expert finished on:

When you finish a level, tell someone in your family the coolest thing you learned.