Balloon rocket

Being an engineer and a bit of an all round geek, I take every opportunity to get some science into my after school English lessons. Imagine my delight when I turned to the page of the book that they are learning and found instructions on how to make a balloon rocket. There are only 9 kids in these smaller after school classes so I am able to have a bit more fun. I had them up pushing against each other to teach them about equal and opposite reactions and then I gave them the materials and got them to do the balloon rocket. It was just a balloon taped to a straw which was threaded onto a tight thread so that the balloons went off in a straight line.

Boys being boys, they couldn't just settle for letting one balloon off and had to take it too far. This is moments before the launch of the four balloon mega-rocket. The maiden voyage ended in tragedy when the thread came undone.

Lesson objectives :

1. Learn how to follow instructions - check
2. Learn about rockets and reactions - check
3. Spread germs around the whole class - check