St. Mary of the Assumption launch pad

Under the guise of great fun, education took place in the field next to the St. Mary of the Assumption School. As the last major science block for the sixth grade students of Mr. Hesseling, the class took on Physics, Rocketry, Aerodynamics, and Safety. Students were to build projectiles using two-liter soft drink bottles, tape, adhesive and vinyl materials. The measurements were height, and time of flight for each student’s “projectile”.

Each participating student had prepared and styled their projectile according to researched designs and limited primarily by the base unit (2-litre bottle). Some had stabilizing fins swept fore and some had fins swept aft with a variety of colors and one that was even camouflaged. With the use of a “launch pad” built by Dave Hohman and the propellant of compressed air, the colorful projectiles were sent skyward to attain an altitude, which was measured by use of a scientific instrument while flight time was measured with stopwatch.

The winds disrupted the pure parabolic paths of the students’ projectiles so that a clear winner in terms of distance might be challenged but the experiments continued. The entire staff and student body participated as interested bystanders for this event. Cheers could be heard as underclass students voiced their support for favorites and just as with fireworks during Fourth of July celebrations, launches in sets of three were made to end the experiment.