A make-it-yourself rocket blueprint from the crew at OMSI.
By Jennifer Powers and Alison Lowrie
Space science is an adventure that both kids and parents can get behind. While we all cannot attend a NASA rocket launch, we can use household materials to learn about rockets and the way they get to space. This DIY rocket activity brings out the astronaut inside all of us!
Materials
- Cardboard tube (toilet paper or paper towel)
- Divided egg carton (for rocket nose cone)
- Construction paper
- Decorating supplies (foil, paint, stickers, markers, colored paper, etc.)
- Scissors
- Masking tape
- Fishing line
- Straw
- Thumbtacks
- Long, skinny balloon
- Balloon pump
Instructions
1. Divide an egg carton to create a rocket nose and attach it to the end of the paper tube with the tape. Create rocket fins out of construction paper and attach them to the paper tube. Decorate your rocket!
2. Next, pick your flight plan. Find a space between two walls with low foot traffic. Thread the fishing line through the straw. Suspend your fishing line across a room, using thumbtacks to attach it to the wall. The line should be tight, not slack.
3. Gently tape your rocket to the straw so that it is hanging beneath the fishing line.
4. Place a balloon inside the rocket and start blowing it up with the pump. The balloon will likely expand past the end of the rocket and that is okay! When it is full, pinch the end of the balloon to hold the air inside. When you are ready to launch your rocket, release the air and watch your rocket fly across the room!
Explore your child’s knowledge through open-ended questions:
- What makes your rocket fly?
- What planets is your rocket flying to?
- What happens when you add more air to the balloon? Less air?
- What will the astronauts study on your mission?
The science behind the fun!
Getting a rocket to space is serious business! How do you get something that large and heavy so far into the sky? The answer is energy. Real-life rockets use an extreme amount of fuel to launch into orbit. In this activity, we put a balloon in our rocket and fill it with air. As we release the air from the balloon, energy is released and our rocket is propelled forward. In our case, the balloon is like a fuel tank and the release of air is like fuel burning.