Engineering Project: Rocket Launch
We use Pease Park daily and last week, the park's value reached new heights! Blue and Purple Bands tested learner-designed-and-built rockets, shooting the vessels high above Live Oak Meadow.
The rocket science unit began in January with both virtual Science Blocks as well as weekly in-person build workshops. During these build workshops the kids spread out in our parking lot, which served as our temporary, very-well-ventilated makerspace...or should we say, “The Long-View Jet Propulsion Research Facility”?
The learners in Blue and Purple Bands were studying astronomy and for their engineering project associated with this unit they learned about the physics of rockets. While designing and building their rockets, the young engineers considered the forces which would act upon their rocket during flight. They tested the location of the center of gravity and center of pressure and iterated their designs over time to increase the stability of the rocket’s flight. To simulate the rocket's motion, learners performed swing tests, spinning around and around as rockets attached to strings “flew” through the air.
While these engineers learned about the scientific ideas important in designing and building rockets, they, of course, spent hands-on time constructing rockets of their own. The goal was to design and build a rocket that would have the longest hang time in the air. While our classes are not typically competitive in nature, this was definitely a friendly “competition” everyone wanted to be a part of!
After a good deal of hard work researching, designing, and building, the kids in Blue and Purple Bands did a first launch in the park the week of March 1. Because each rocket scientist had designed his/her rocket with the goal of having the longest hang time, stopwatches were at the ready and learners recorded each rocket’s time in the air. A few ambitious engineers took on the extra challenge of carrying an egg in the rocket, which had the constraint of having to make it back down to the ground safely. With each rocket that launched carrying an egg, there was also an “egg rescue team” ready to check each egg after it made its journey.
Once the initial tests concluded, learners were able to iterate designs and improve their rockets. Most of this work took place in home laboratories and rockets came back to school for the final launch held the week of March 8. Everyone in the Long-View community joined the final launch and cheered on Blue Band and Purple Band as the rockets took their final voyages.
