By Debby Venable

Oklahoma STEM Ambassador

I have always had a fascination for objects that fly, whether it is a bird, a kite, clouds, or even rockets.  I developed that sense of adventure many, many years ago in my youth with my first homemade kite that I made from newspaper, sticks, string, and tape. So naturally when I discovered the launching of rockets with just a 2 liter pop bottle and few pieces of conduit that can be purchased at the local hardware or lumber store, I jumped right to it to build one.  This simple little contraption provided an opportunity for students to get involved in not only the planning stages of the “rocket project”, but also in the building and launching of the rocket. You can tie these activities to you study of space, rockets, physics, math, or engineering.

This is a great activity for those middle school kids that seem to lose interest so very quickly and cease coming to your program.  It can also become a mentoring project for you older youth in helping your younger students to become the rocket scientists that they all want to be. Oh what fun for not only your students, but also for you as the facilitator of discovery?

There are plans for air rockets that you launch with a simple stomping of a 2 liter soda bottle, a new and improved straw rocket launcher, and another with just old fashioned human air. I found several sites that offer different plans for building the actual launcher for you simple rocket, and ones that are simple enough for your students to build without much difficulty.  Sure you can buy all of the materials and finished projects already ready to use, but where would be the discovery and critical thinking skills for your students?  I believe that the magic of learning lies in the hands-on discovery that students experience when they understand the concepts from the ground up.  By building every component of this project themselves, they will not forget every stage of the learning process.

I have added my own plans and “refined” the plans of the others that will ensure student success, after all . . . . .IT IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. . .

Click here to download the plans!