The Perfect DIY Craft to Teach Your Little One About Trajectory

Now that summer is coming to an end, it’s time for the kids to put their thinking caps back on. And what better way to kick off the back-to-school season than by making a science craft? Get down to learning business by making this bottle rocket from Emma Vanstone’s This is Rocket Science to learn about trajectory!

Squeezy Bottle Rocket

Trajectory is the path an object follows as it flies through the air. Imagine the path a ball takes when you throw it. If you throw the ball straight upward, its trajectory is different than if you throw it forward toward someone else.

Rockets initially fly vertically upward through the lower, denser parts of the atmosphere but then turn so they are on the correct path to enter orbit around the Earth.

This means their overall trajectory is a curved path, rather than the vertical path you might expect.

This easy-to-construct rocket is great for investigating how the angle a rocket is launched from affects its flight. The rockets work because as you squeeze the bottle, air is forced out of the straw in the bottle and pushes against the rocket straw. This force causes the rocket straw to fly through the air.

Materials

• Empty water bottles with a sports cap
• Scissors
• 2 straws, 1 wide enough fit over the other
• Modeling clay
• Cardstock or paper
• Felt tip pens
• Tape
  
  

Directions

To make the bottle part of the rocket, it’s really important to make sure the sports cap is completely airtight. If air can escape, your rocket won’t fly very far.