This study examined the effects of hands-on instruction on young children's understanding of an aspect of flight, specifically Bernoulli's principle. First, 137 public school children, ages 5 through 8 years, were interviewed about their understanding of how an airplane flies. Two weeks later, the subjects participated in two hands-on instructional activities that demonstrated Bernoulli's principle of flowing fluids (which creates lift). Three weeks after the instructional activities the subjects were interviewed again about their understanding of flight. The study found that although no children, pre- or post-intervention, demonstrated a complete understanding of Bernoulli's principle or flight, significant numbers of children progressed from a level of no understanding to some understanding or some vocabulary knowledge. Overall, 29 percent of the subjects evidenced a change in their level of understanding following instruction. The youngest children evidenced the largest percentage of change in responses, whereas the oldest students demonstrated the smallest percentage of change. Contains eight references. (MDM)