Three … two … one… BLAST OFF! Today you’re an aerospace engineer, and your goal is to make a rocket fly. As you exhale, the air in your lungs will move through a straw and into the rocket. When the air enters the rocket, it has nowhere else to go, so pressure will build up inside the rocket. That pressure will generate a force that launches the rocket. But gravity will, of course, bring it back to Earth.
What You Need
➡ Two pieces of construction paper
➡ Clear tape
➡ Scissors
➡ Ruler
➡ Plastic bendy straw
➡ Stickers, markers or washi tape for decoration
➡ Pencils
What You Do
- Cut out a square of construction paper that measures 5 inches by 5 inches. Wrap the square tightly around a pencil. Tape the edge of the paper tube to hold its shape. Remove the pencil. This is the rocket’s body.
- From the other sheet of paper, cut a circle with a diameter of 2.5 inches. Cut a small “pie piece” shape from the circle and discard it. Tape the edges of the circle’s wedge together to form a cone. This is the rocket’s nose.
- Tape the nose to one end of the body. Blow into the rocket’s open end. If air can escape through any openings in the closed end, the rocket won’t fly as far. Use tape to close the openings.
- Insert the long end of the straw into the open end of the rocket.
- Blow into the short end of the straw to send your rocket flying!
More Fun: Use stickers or colors to decorate the rocket. Change the angle of the straw and amount of air pressure to experiment with the flight path.
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