DIY: Straw Rocket!

MATERIALS:

  • 2 straws (1 straight, 1 bendy) **bendy straw must fit inside straight straw**

  • Scissors

  • Duct tape

  • Modeling Clay

What to do:

Step 1

  • Cut the bigger straw in half. Disregard 1/2, keep 1/2 for body of rocket.

Step 2

  • Cut 3”-4” in piece of duct tape, and place straw (body of rocket) on sticky side of tape.

Step 3

  • Fold both sides of tape to center of straw, and cut sides to resemble fins on rocket.

Step 4

  • Pinch off piece of modeling clay, and apply to top of straw (be sure to cover entire hole).

Step 5

  • Place straw (rocket) onto the bendy straw, and place bendy side in mouth.

Step 6

  • Blow as hard as you can! (LIFT-OFF!!!)

HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING!

This simple DIY experiment is an example of Newton’s first law of motion: “…an object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force (inertia).”

Therefore, your straw rocket will remain at rest, until your breath (an outside force), propels the rocket in the air! Gravity then acts on the rocket, bringing it back down to earth!

There ya go, an easy DIY rocket experiment to showcase Newton’s first law of motion.

ExperimentsThe Science GuysScience, Straw Rockets, Newton's 1st Law