We’ve been making the most of the sunny weather at Breakthrough this week and taking some of our science experiments outside. Working collaboratively, our Cannamore students spent a morning rocket building.
Building paper rockets enables students to tie together many different concepts in physics – in particular, the equations of motion linking velocity, acceleration, distance and time, as well as the principles of aerodynamics. We introduced some trigonometry afterwards too, calculating the height of each launch from the angles.
Each student approached it in a different way, with some short and sleek designs along with many much longer and fancier models. The smaller and less adorned models definitely flew the furthest!
These kind of activities are great for cross-curricular practice too, with students using paint and pens to decorate their unique creations. Best of all was the way the students were encouraging and engaging with each other – having a huge amount of fun building the pressure in the cylinder ready for launch, measuring each other’s rocket heights and trying to dodge a soaking from the water rocket launcher!
