Bee Rockets
Ages 4-10
Today we are going to learn how to make objects fly with air pressure! Air takes up space, just like all matter, and when it pushes on something it can have a big effect! Here at Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum, we can see this happening with the air tubes in our Pollinator. The plastic balls are heavier than air, but the air can still push them through the tubes by putting pressure on them.
We can make things move with air, too! Today we are going to make paper straw rockets, but instead of rockets, we are going to make bees!
Materials:
- Straw
- Scissors
- Tape
- Paper
- Optional: bee printout
Directions:
- Start by making your bee. You can draw a bee on paper, or you can use a picture that you print out.
- Now cut out a small square from a sheet of paper. Roll the square around one end of the straw and tape it. Don’t tape it to the straw; just put the tape on the paper so it makes a small tube that the straw can fit inside.
- Close one end of the paper tube by flattening it and taping it shut. This tube should fit over the end of the straw. This tube will launch your bee. If your straw came with a wrapper, you can also use that by cutting off one end.
- Tape the tube to the back of your bee, but don’t flatten it! Make sure the straw can still go inside.
- Now you have your bee rocket! Try it out by putting it on the end of the straw and blowing! How high can your bee fly?
More Fun:
- How does changing your design affect how the bee flies? Try making changes to shape or size and see what works best.
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