From fun, easy hands-on experiments to short videos made with feedback from reach teachers: check out these activities specially designed for middle school students.

A digital illustration of a rocket ascending into space.

Rocket Lab

Engineer your own rocket.

Ages:  10+ | Time: 5 mins

A red balloon taped to a straw zooms along a string when the air is let out the back.

Balloon Rockets

Build a balloon rocket to explore rocket propulsion—the force that pushes rockets forward!

Ages: 9+ | Time: 20 mins | Screen Free

A paper rocket on a straw in the foreground. A colander on carpet in the background.

Rocket Design Challenge

Build and test a rocket model that can reach a certain target.

Ages: 6+ | Time: 20-30 mins | Screen Free

A blue balloon attatched to an empty water bottle is inflated by the gases that were created in the bottle.

Baking Soda Balloon Blast Off

Launch a balloon with a safe chemical reaction. 

Ages:  10+ | Time: 5 mins | Screen Free

A thumbnail image of three middle-aged white people making excited faces. Behind them are two photographs of rockets. In front of them is the text "Learn about rockets!"

On Air: All About Rockets

Explore the history of rockets, the legacy of Robert Goddard and how his experiments in rocketry ignited the public’s imagination in this video series for middle schoolers.

Ages: 11-14 | Time: 4-9 min videos

Rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building

Videos: How Do Rockets Work? How Do They Take Us to the Moon?

Understand how rockets work and take a closer look at rockets used in the Apollo program for the first Moon landings, and what NASA is using for the Artemis program.

Ages: 11-14 | Time: 30 sec-4 mins videos