Science Fair Project Ideas - Quick and Easy Project 2 - Rocket Science

Building a rocket is one of the best science fair project ideas - especially for students interested in physics and flight. If this is one of the science fair project ideas that interests you, read on to learn exactly how to complete this project.

Remember: in order to complete the science fair rocket project, you will need to have safety equipment on hand, such as goggles. This is also one of those science fair project ideas that might be best performed with adult supervision. Safety first

Objective

The objective of the rocket is to determine what rocket design changes actually change the speed and projection of the rocket itself.

Introduction

Many children have played with model rockets. After all, they are loud, fast, and provide an excellent way to learn about physics. This particular science experiment will help you build your own rocket that will travel up to hundreds of feet in the air. Many real rockets can travel for thousands of feet into the air. From this experiment, you'll also learn about aerodynamics and safety when working with rockets.

Terms and Concepts You'll Need to Know

When you work on this model rocket, you'll need to know about the four forces that impact flight. They are weight, thrust, drag, and lift. You'll also need to know the equation for drag. This experiment will also help you to learn about how to stabilize a rocket by using center of gravity and center of pressure.

Materials You Will Need

You will need to buy a model rocket and related components for the rocket. You should be able to find a model rocket between $50 and $100 online or through a local toy store. Make sure the rocket you purchase is reusable!

Procedure Tips

In order to perform this procedure, you'll be testing the rocket based on variables that you choose, such as flight duration, distance, and more. You can choose your own variables. This is one of the cool science fair project ideas because you are able to customize the project for your own needs and interest. For example, if you are interested in what will happen to the launch of your rocket if you remove a propeller or modify the tip of the rocket, you can experiment.

Here are some specific tips for you, no matter what variations you use.

Plan several launches for each variable. In order to complete this experiment, you'll need to perform the rocket launch several times. Each rocket launch will measure a different variable. For all rocket launches, you should use the same engine (or an identical engine) to ensure that the launch is the same as the others. It may also be best to take an average of three flights per each different variable that you measure in order to ensure that your reading is as accurate as possible.

Use trackers to measure altitude. Unless you are able to get on top of a very high building or latter, it can be difficult to measure the altitude of your rocket. However, by using trackers on taller items, such as trees, you may be able to get a close estimate. Look for rockets that have radio attachments on them (as long as they are within your budget).

Consider wind and thermal lift conditions when measuring flight duration. If you are measuring flight duration as one of your variables, be sure that you consider environmental conditions as well as conditions directly related to your experiment.

Only change one variable per flight. By changing only one variable, it will be easier to measure how those variables actually impacted the flight of your rocket.

Remember: this is one of the science fair project ideas that I like the most because it is fun to build and execute. Safety should always come first. It might also be good to have a back-up rocket in case your rocket gets lost or damaged during the experiment. Most of all - have fun!

If you're ready to get going with your own rocket project, your next step is to download a free copy of "Easy Steps to Award-Winning Science Fair Projects" from the link below right now."

Your next step is to download a free copy of Easy Steps to Award-Winning Science Fair Projects to lead you through your own project.

A great resource for science project ideas, as well as how to do them, is the science project blog. Definitely worth bookmarking.

About the Author Aurora L. has been teaching science to kids for over 10 years. She is also a mechanical engineer, university instructor, pilot, astronomer and a real live rocket scientist (You should see the lab in her basement!) She has inspired thousands of kids with the fun and magic of science

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Elementary Science Projects For Parents Who Aren't Rocket Scientists

Elementary Science Projects are often the first introduction that a parent has to the wonderful world of school projects. The first science project is the perfect time for a kid to be amazed at the way things work in the world around us. Learning about stuff like friction, static electricity and fire is fascinating and fun. Often, however, the process of deciding on a topic, finding a project, and getting it to work leads to frustration for parents and students. Somewhere between the fun and the fair, the fun often evaporates with that first science project. It shouldn't be that way! A science project should be a wonderful time of discovery and learning for a parent and child.

But what if you're like most parents, and are not a rocket scientist? How can you choose and help your child do a good, if elementary, science project?

Before you discuss it with your child, do your homework. If your elementary school child has been assigned a science project, you already know that your biggest step is choosing a topic. Don't make the mistake of being too broad and asking your child, "Do you want to do a project about electricity?" Find some specific projects that follow guidelines of your science teacher or science fair. Then, describe the project in exciting terms. "Here's a cool project about how yeast has enough gas - yes, that kind - to can blow up a balloon!" or "You take the shell off an egg in this project and then bounce the egg on the floor!"

While looking for an experiment, keep in mind that many teachers require that a science project follow the scientific method, even when doing an elementary school science project. That means your child has to come up with a question, do research, state an hypothesis, list independent and dependent variables, test the hypothesis, chart results and declare a conclusion. (Did you feel the fun start to go away?!)

It's also important not to choose a science project so complicated that the child is only a spectator. Find an experiment that allows the child to participate, to understand the scientific principles, and to have fun!

Yes, we know how difficult this can be. We have four sons, and have done more science projects than we can count. We've encountered more than our share of problems, and made lots of mistakes. But somewhere along the way, we started to figure it out! We began to come up with project ideas that met the teacher's standards, yet were easy to do, affordable, interesting and fun. We've written a free guide called, "The Non-Scientist Parent's Guide to Science Fair Projects", which will walk you step by step through the whole science project process. Get your copy of the guide at http://www.24HourScienceProjects.com, and we'll help you and your child discover how easy and fun that it can be to do an elementary science project!

Kayla Fay and her four boys are the creators of Online Science Project Guides, science projects that are fun, easy, affordable, and teacher pleasing! Find out about these guides, and get a free copy of "The Non-Scientist Parent's Guide to Science Fair Projects" at http://www.24HourScienceProjects.com.

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