Willow Creek Rocket Launch
Filed under Teaching Moments
Houston, we have lift-off! Fifth graders from Mrs. Heaton's class at Willow Creek Elementary invited me to participate in their annual paper rocket launch. The rockets were made from construction paper, tape and clay... that's it. No engines or explosives in these rockets - the only fuel was 30 pounds of air pressure. I learned how to make the rocket launcher several years ago while speaking to teachers at Space
Camp for Educators in Huntsville, Alabama. The morning started with each student making their first launch. Some of the rocket designs were great while others just blew up on the launch pad. It was back to the drawing board as the students reanalyzed their designs, fixed the flaws and headed out for the second launch. The success rate for the second launch was well above 80%... and the young rocket engineers were amazed to see their success.
The greatest learning moment of the entire morning was the numerous failures the students experienced on their first attempt.
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