Most kids are fascinated by space. In grade 2, students spend more time learning about our solar system. As part of that curriculum, they also explore what space travel is like. Below, we start with a fun hands-on activity and then take you to our worksheets on space travel.
Make a rocket activity
With a few simple materials you have at home, you can make your own rocket.
For this activity, you’ll need:
- An empty, rinsed soda bottle
- A four-pillar base made from pieces of wood, Lego pieces, craft sticks or other materials for the bottle to rest in upside down.
- Baking Soda
- Vinegar
- Paper towel
- A cork (cork works best, but you could substitute the cork with a piece of pool noodle, if you don’t have cork)
We’ll start with constructing the launchpad:
It will need four pillars and support beams that can hold the bottle upside down without touching the ground. Experiment with craft materials, Lego piece or wooden sticks to find the right fit for the bottle.
Now, onto the launch area:
Find an open, flat space away from your house, other buildings and trees. The rocket can reach anywhere from 30 to 50 feet in the air.
Place your constructed launch pad in an open, flat space.
Take your clean bottle. Decorate it to make it look more like a rocket by painting it, putting a cone on its top with construction paper (which is the bottom of the bottle) and placing fins along the base.
Time to fuel up the rocket.
Pour 1 – 2 cups of vinegar in the bottle.
Place a tablespoon of baking soda in the center of the paper towel. Fold up and wrap the baking soda in the paper towel snuggly so that the packet fits inside the bottle.
Place the paper towel in the bottle full of vinegar.
Plug the mouth of the bottle with the cork.
Flip the bottle over and place it in the launchpad facing straight up. Move back quickly!
Blast off!
Space travel worksheets
In our grade 2 science area, we have created three worksheets for students to examine space travel.
