Games
Rubber Rocket
Children make rockets using paper and launch them with a rubber band, exploring concepts of force, motion, and aerodynamics through playful experimentation.
Materials
- Colorful A4 Papers
- Rubber
- Scissors
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Checklist
Older game
how to play
Give the paper to the individual kids. Begin by telling a short story, such as being young astronauts preparing rockets to explore a distant planet or sending messages across a magical kingdom, to spark imagination. Give each kid paper, and a rubber band to create their rocket. Show them how to roll, fold, and attach the paper to the rubber band launcher. Explain that they can experiment with different rocket shapes, sizes, and angles to see how far and fast their rockets can fly. If children have difficulty, give hints such as: How tightly should you roll the paper? Where should you attach the rubber band? How can adjusting the angle change the flight? Ensure each child gets enough turns to build, launch, and enjoy observing their rocket in action while exploring force, motion, and aerodynamics.
Challanges
- We're challenging the kids to make a rocket that goes super far using rubber.
- They get to decide how they want to launch it.
- They can design their own rockets, whether they look like airplanes or classic rockets.
- If a kid doesn't know how to start, we'll give them a model rocket to take apart and learn from. Then, they can use what they've learned to create their own rocket designs.
Questions to be asked
- How far up do you think a rubber rocket can go?
- If you had to make sure the rocket goes to a specific height, what would you do?
- Why do you think rubber is used for rockets instead of string or thread?