This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
My physics students are fun and hardworking. However, they are scared of math and, therefore, physics seems impossible to them. I think they love it though when we reflect on their accomplishments and we say, "Look! You're doing physics!" They can do amazing things.
My students engage the most when activities are real and hands-on.
Bookwork, videos, and computer simulations help, but, when they are challenged to design and build, their learning gets real. They are at their best being creative and solving problems when challenged with real problems.
My Project
What do you remember from physics class? With this project, we will build student memories with hands-on water rocket projects. The math and science of rockets are boring unless you get to design, build, and launch a rocket. With real rockets, my students can perform fuel volume testing and analysis, take measurements to compute apogees to determine performance, and design landing and recovery systems for payloads. Creativity is critical in rocket design along with technical skills.
Having water rocket launchers and a bicycle pump will enable my students to engage in learning physics beyond books, simulations, and videos.
They will experience the thrill of watching the results of their calculations and designs. They will engage with each other and share their creations. These good memories will be their lasting impression of physics class and they will walk away with technical design skills. My students are capable of many things and challenging them with rocket projects will give them a memorable experience they can take into any career.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Katzenstein and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
