Air-powered bottle rocket

Children build a cardboard rocket and launch it by squeezing a bottle through a straw.

Steps

1. A short story about Yuri Gagarin and the Polish astronauts Mirosław Hermaszewski and Sławosz Uznański.
2. Children roll a rocket from a piece of paper around a pencil and seal its tip.
3. They glue on fins and decorate it.
4. They put the rocket on a straw inserted into an empty plastic bottle and squeeze the bottle hard.
5. Contest: whose rocket flies the furthest; we measure the distance with a tape measure.

Tip: Older children can check how the launch angle affects the flight distance.

Materials needed

• Reusable plastic straws (1 per child)
• Adhesive tape (2 rolls)
• Measuring tape (1 piece)