North Bellmore School District

A whoosh and a puff of smoke meant success for sixth graders at Saw Mill Road Elementary School for their annual rocket launch. The traditional end-of-year activity is the culmination of a physics unit in science.

Students from the five sixth grade classes built their rockets from kits and decorated them before it was time to launch on June 20. The last step was placing the engine inside. Then, students took the long walk to back of the athletic fields, checked the wind direction and set up the launch pads.

One by one, students set up their rockets, hooked up a couple of wires, stood back a safe distance and pushed a button. There were “oohs” and “aahs” and occasionally a “where did it go?” as each rocket soared high. In midair the parachutes deployed, and the rockets made their gentle descent, often landing a hundred feet or more away.

The rocket launch reinforces the understanding of several scientific concepts such as acceleration, force and gravity.