How to Make a Rocket at Home {Kid-friendly, Human-powered STEAM rocket}

Hello and welcome students to the Sassafras Science lab!

I’m Cecil Sassafras, your host for this brief excursion. Blaine and Tracey asked me to share a little activity with you guys. So today, we are going to go through how to make a rocket at home.

First, you will need lots of wire, several metal sheets...

Excuse me for one moment, my lab assistant President Lincoln is waving some sort of paper wildly in attempts to get my attention, be back in a skippity-do-da...

Persactly! The Prez has just now reminded me of a memo that I had completely forgotten about.

I’ll share it here with you. This way you’ll see what I see! I just need to move Socrates off this scanner and then it should pop up on your screen...

Ahh... those folks at the Sassafras team know me so well!

How to Build a Rocket at Home {Kid-friendly, Human-powered STEAM rocket}

So, I had better share a kid-friendly, human-powered type of rocket instead. It seems it is not a good idea for me to share how you can build a working rocket in your basement! Maybe one of these days Linc-dog and I can zip you over to the lab to see the real thing.

For now, I’ll amend my list of materials so that now you will need a soda bottle, some rubber cement, paper, pencil, and several sheets of foam. Linc-dog, can you upload the slideshow we used with the twins the other day and we’ll get rolling?

Bravo, another excellent presentation by my amazing lab assistant!

Steps to Complete

In case you missed a step of how to make a rocket at home, here’s the list:

1. Gather supplies.
2. Draw your fin design on a sheet of paper.
3. Cut out the fin shape and use it as a template to make three foam fins. 
4. Use rubber cement to attach the fins to the base of the bottle and let them dry.
5. Use a full sheet of foam to cut out a cone shape for the top of the bottle.
6. Glue the cone together and let it dry. (You may need a bit of tape to hold it in place.)
7. Attach the cone to the bottle with rubber cement and let it dry.
8. Your rocket is ready for human-powered use!

Now you have your very own bottle rocket, just like mine, for your lab desk.

Oh my, your right, Prez, I almost forgot! Here's a template you can use for cutting out your rocket cone and fins:

• How to Make a Rocket at Home Templates

I hope you enjoyed your peek into the Sassafras Science lab. Make sure you come back in two weeks for more from my lovely niece and nephew!

Who is Cecil Sassafras?

He's the twins' crazy, eccentric, forgetful uncle. He is the scientist behind the invisible zip lines found in the Sassafras Science Adventures series. He is also known for creating all kinds of other useful wonders, including the breakfast machine and a filing system based on classification.