How Far Can Your Straw Rocket Travel?

Straw rockets are fun on their own, but when you add a STEM challenge you make them even better! The challenge is to see how far you can make a paper rocket fly with one puff of air.

What you need per student...

• 1 Straw 
• 1 Piece Of Printer Paper 
• 6 Inches Of Tape 
• Scissors 
• How Far Can Your Straw Rocket Travel? Creator Sheet 
• Decoration Materials 
• Crayons, Stickers, Markers, Etc.  

Additional....

• Measuring Tape 
• Tape

What you need to do...

• Start by taping the measuring tape to the floor and make sure students have all the materials needed. 
• Explain to students that for this challenge they must build a straw rocket using the materials provided and it must travel as far as possible. 
• Have students make and write down a hypothesis about how far they think their straw rocket will travel. 
• Now time to brainstorm! Tell students that there is no wrong or right way to build their rocket. 
• Here is a super easy way to make a straw rocket for reference: 
• Cut a piece of paper into a  2″ by 4″ piece. 
• Decorate the piece of paper. 
• Roll the paper strip loosely around the  straw. 
• Tape the roll along the edge to keep it rolled. 
• Fold the top of the paper tube down and tape it.     
• Ask students how they will build a straw rocket that can travel far. Once they have their idea, have them draw it on their worksheet. 
• At this point have students start to build their straw rocket. Go around the room and assist students as needed. 
• To experiment, have students stand on one end of the measuring tape and use a puff of air to launch their straw rocket! 
• Help them measure how far their straw rocket went. Have them record their data. 
• Once all students have tested out their straw rockets have a class discussion about students' hypotheses. Answer any questions students may have and have them write their analysis from the challenge. 
• Finally have them answer if their hypothesis was correct 
• Who had the winning straw rocket? Make sure the class gives them a congratulations!

We would love to see you try this STEM Challenge. Share your results with us through social media!

Happy Making,

Maker Maven