Ages 6+ | 20-30 min | Experiment | Screen Free
Your challenge: build and test a rocket model that can reach a certain target.
Fold your paper in half and then half again.
Cut the paper along the folds to create four equal pieces of paper.
Take one of the pieces of paper you just cut. Place the shorter edge along a straw. Roll it to create a tube.
Once the paper is wrapped around the straw, tape the sides down so the paper does not unroll.
Pinch the top of your rocket body to make the pointy nose cone of the rocket.
Use tape to keep the pointy shape but also to block air from coming out of the top end.
Take one of the pieces of paper you cut earlier and fold it to make a point, like pictured.
Hold it up to the body of your rocket to measure how long you want your fins to be.
Cut any extra off the bottom.
Cut the triangle tip off
Cut it at the fold so you end up with two of the same-sized triangles.
Tape the fins onto the body of your rocket.
Tip: Put tape onto the fin first, then tape it to the body. Then bend the fin where it's attached and tape the other side to make to stick out from the body.
Take one of the pieces of paper y
Be creative! This example uses a colander as a "crater" on the Moon!
Put your rocket on the tip of a straw and blow.
Did your rocket hit the target? Can you make your rocket fly further?
What would happen if you changed something about your rocket? If you make it longer or shorter? Add or remove fins? Add weight to your nose cone?
Change one thing about your rocket and launch it again. How did this launch differ from the first time you launched?
This is an annotated illustration of a Saturn V rocket. On the left is an illustration of the outer view of the aircraft, on the right an illustration of the inner view. There are red arrows pointing to different sections. The very top of the rocket is the nose cone. As the rocket widens, the next section is the payload system, immediately followed by the guidance system. The majority of the body which contains the propulsion system. At the very bottom of the rocket are fins which kick out from the rocket's cylindrical body.
Nose cone: Designed to move air smoothly around a rocket
Payload system: What the rocket will be bringing to space - astronauts, spacecraft or supplies
Guidance system: Holds computers, sensors and other things to help control the rocket
Fuselage (Body): Holds the propulsion system inside, and also holds the nose cone on top and the fins on the bottom
Propulsion system: Made up of the engines, fuel, tanks, pumps that push the rocket through the air and through space. Most of the rocket is the propulsion system.
Fins: Keep the rocket stable and control the direction the rocket travels in
Age: 3-5
Grade Level: Pre-K
20-30 mins
You are free to use this resource for personal and educational purposes, with attribution. (CC BY-NC)
Soar Together offers family days at the National Air and Space Museum's two locations, as well as activities like this one for families to do anywhere.
Soar Together is made possible by the generous support of the Northrop Grumman Foundation.
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