Rocket Science Activities

Take science outdoors with four high-flying rocket science projects and activities!

3-2-1 Blast Off with Rocket Science

Moon Landing Anniversary

This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, which means this is a perfect time to plan hands-on rocket exploration with students! Try one of the four "to the Moon and back" STEM activities listed below to celebrate this important space science milestone.

Rocket Science Exploration

These projects and activities help kids put Newton's laws of motion into action as they explore the chemistry and physics behind a rocket's lift-off and flight.

1. Bottle Rocket Blast Off!: use a water bottle rocket launcher to model how a rocket's reaction engine creates thrust and propels a rocket into space.
2. Build a Two-Stage Balloon Rocket: find out why a rocket has stages in which parts of it fall off and burn up in the atmosphere.
3. Launching Homemade Baking Soda Rockets: experiment to see how changes in the ratio of baking soda to vinegar affect the launch distance of a simple film canister rocket.
4. Rocket Science: How High Can You Send a Payload?: turn a water bottle rocket into a rocket with compartments for both fuel and payload and explore the role of each.

Rocket Science Lesson Plans

Educators looking for rocket science activities for the classroom will find complete, NGSS-aligned activities in the following free lesson plans:

• Teaching the Scientific Method with Paper Rockets: make paper rockets and learn about the steps of the scientific method in this lesson plan designed for use with grades 3-5.
• Paper Rockets to Learn the Scientific Method: make paper rockets and learn about the steps of the scientific method in this lesson plan designed for use with grades 6-8.
• Two-Stage Balloon Rocket: explore Newton's laws of motion with multi-stage balloon rockets in this lesson plan for grades 6-8.

Science Buddies' free Lesson Plans contain background information for educators, guided discussion prompts, worksheet materials, and more.

To learn more about the Paper Rockets Lesson Plans (for grades 3-5 and 6-8), watch this short video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hThMoHB88w

Share Your Science Buddies Story!

Have you used a science project, STEM activity, or Lesson Plan from Science Buddies in your class or program? We would love to hear your story! Email us at scibuddy@sciencebuddies.org and tell us how you use Science Buddies with students.

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