Read this aloud:
A rocket is sitting on its launch pad. In space there's no ground to push off and no air to push against. No road, no wheels, nothing. And yet rockets go up, and they keep speeding up in space. Some people at Mission Control think that's impossible. The job: build a rocket of your own and work out how it pushes itself forward with nothing to push on.
Jobs for one child: you're the launcher, and the grown-up measures. Two children: a Launch Commander who counts down and releases the rocket, and a Flight Tracker who measures how far it went, then swap. Three children: add a Fuel Officer who checks every balloon is filled to the right size.
In the full lesson PDF
- Bet (5 min)
- Hunt (25 min)
- Reveal (10 min)
- Act (10 min)
- The science, for grown-ups
- Questions they'll ask (and what to say)
- Make it easier, make it harder
- Go further
- Student sheet
Written for parents: no science background needed. US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white, with a kids’ sheet on its own page.