Water rocket workshop
In-school visitBJPCE Limited
Brian Egles
07785 527324
brian.egles@bjpce.co.uk
http://www.bjpce.co.uk/stem
United Kingdom
A great indoor/outdoor activity in which pupils work in groups of 2-3 to build their own water rocket from mostly scrap materials and then launch them up to 150m in the school field.
Typical timetable:
- Short talk on the science of rockets including demonstrations with balloons, foam rockets and darts
- Pupils build their own rocket
- Fair testing to work out the optimum air/water ratio
- Final assembly of rockets including mission patches
- Launching up to 150m in the school field
- Opportunity to measure time, distance and record results
- Short careers link using "faces of Nasa"
- Introduce the NPL water rocket challenge videos and resources
Expected outcomes
Science subject knowledge:
- forces and motion
- aerodynamics: drag, centre of gravity
Enquiry skills:
- Fair testing
- Predicting and measuring
Maths:
- Collecting data
- Presenting results
Other skills:
- Teamwork
- Co-operation
- Following instructions
- Problem solving
Brian Egles
07785 527324
brian.egles@bjpce.co.uk
http://www.bjpce.co.uk/stem
.
Leatherhead
KT22
The STEM Directory is provided as a service to support you in finding enrichment opportunities. The activities are offered by external providers and are not endorsed by STEM Learning. We are not responsible for their content or delivery.
How to take part/get started
Book a full-day workshop and make sure the school field is available all afternoon.
Start collecting the "scrap materials" you will need:
- 2 litre carbonated drinks bottles (2 per rocket)
- Cardboard such as cereal packets
Order the supplies you will need if they aren't already in stock:
- Sellotape (ideally one roll per table and, even better, in a cutter/dispenser)
- One nice sheet of A4 card per rocket for the nose cone
- Plasticene (50g per rocket) can be reused
Check equipment is available:
- Scissors
- Pencils, rulers
- Scales for weighing 50g
- Measuring jugs 500ml or 1 litre
- Stopwatch, trundle wheel if you want to measure time & distance during launching
- Clipboards or other way of recording data
- Safety glasses for launching (only really need 4-5 pairs if sharing across groups is OK)
Downloads
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Make a water rocket 569.9 KB
Show downloads
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Make a water rocket 569.9 KB
| Published | 07 November 2022 |
|---|---|
| Last modified | 22 May 2023 |
| Nature of scheme | In-school visit |
| Subject(s) | Space, Mathematics, Science, Working scientifically, Practical work, Outside the classroom |
| Category | Outdoor Activity |
| Age | 7-11, 11-14 |
| Running times | 4-8 hours |
| Cost | £600 Cost depends on distance from surrey |
| Risk assessment | Yes |