Rockets get young scientists fired up
Published Sunday, March 30, 2008
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Six hours, two Saturdays and a long trek into a snow-covered hayfield for a minute of flight might not sound like a fair trade, but the students at Steele Creek Road kept their eyes fixed on the sky.
Ten children-and-adult teams spent the last two Saturdays participating in Advance Rocket Science, a family program offered by the University of Alaska Museum of the North. The program, along with other events, is aimed at helping the community understand the museum’s natural and cultural history and art.
The teams constructed their rockets the previous week and launched them Saturday under the watchful eyes of Jennifer Arseneau, education program leader at the museum, and Roger Topp, a writer and new media producer at the museum. Arseneau said the children participating in the program were between 7 and 12 years old.
Topp said the program taught kids about data collection by having an altimeter attached to each rocket so the rocket’s altitude can be recorded during the flight. After retrieving their rockets from the vast hay field, Topp examined the altimeters on site and the participants knew the flight data of their rockets minutes after setting them off. The day’s data and video will also be uploaded to the museum’s Web site in a couple of days.
“We try to make it more complicated but we don’t want to scare away people,” Topp said.
During the construction phase, the teams had basic model parts for their rockets but had important decisions to make regarding the fins on the rocket. Arseneau said teams had to determine their priorities when it came to the fins — lighter ones would have higher flight but bigger ones would have a more stable flight.
In their second rocket program Maia Rothman and her father, Jeff, opted for bigger fins and their decision has paid off. Their rocket, “Silver Falcon” recorded the highest altitude of the day: 1,454 feet. Saturday’s result was much better than last year’s result.
“There’s a reason why we’re back,” Jeff said.
Maia said her father used the wrong type of tape and their previous rocket burned, except for the fins. Jeff called it the skeleton of a rocket.
The Advanced Rocket Program is in its second year although the regular rocket program has been taking place for more than 10 years, Topp said. In addition to the team-built rockets, more powerful rockets also were launched. The last one that was launched, Bad Wolf, had the biggest motor and held an altimeter and a video camera. Topp said it weighed about 1 pound but could collect data about the trajectory, spin and height of Bad Wolf.
The launch of Bad Wolf highlighted the program’s lesson about the important roll rockets can play in science.
“These rockets do work. They’re not firing off glorified fireworks,” Topp said.
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