Hundreds of rockets took off from the grounds around Imagination Station during the weekend as the science museum marked the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing by putting local children’s ingenuity to the test.
Jeff Stevenson, the museum’s education, program, and projects officer, said the Water Rocket Launch was a unique way to teach children of all ages about the Apollo 11 mission’s importance.
“Kids really don’t have an understanding of us going to the moon anymore — that’s a thing that hasn’t been happening in a very long time. We thought we’d celebrate with kids by doing the water rocket challenge,” he said.
With supplies including corks, cups, pipe cleaners, plates, forks, foam, and much more, children filled up 2-liter bottles with water and pumped their rockets with air that provided propulsion. Once fueled, the rockets were released off launchpads.
Through the exercise, Mr. Stevenson said, participants expanded their knowledge regarding rocket building and launching techniques, including wing selection and design as well as fuel-to-air ratios.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for different inquiry-based learning and it's all disguised in this ‘You’re going to get wet launching a rocket’ fun day activity,” he said.
An estimated 144 rockets were built and were launched over 300 times during Saturday’s activities, and Mr. Jefferson said early Sunday he anticipated a similar outcome for the event’s second day.
“We’ll probably still do over 100 rockets today and that’s not even counting launches. If you think about every kid that built a rocket, they just spent 45 minutes building this hand-crafted, meticulous NASA-engineered rocket — they’re going to launch it a couple of times,” he said.
Participants launched their craft-made rockets into downtown Toledo’s Festival Park and marked their feat with flag markers.
Lashay Dunigan, 7, of Springfield Township said she first discovered rocket building through YouTube.
“I have this YouTube Kids app and they have this thing about building rockets, so I thought it would be really fun to build one,” she said.
Lisa Benzing, 27, of Detroit said she brought her sons to visit relatives in the Toledo area and decided to pay the science museum a visit.
Unaware of the special event before their arrival, she said the museum outing was a case of being at the “right place, right time” as she finished off building a rocket alongside her sons Oliver Benzing, 8, and Isaac Benzing, 7.
Excited to build his first rocket, Oliver Benzing said he enjoys reading about rockets.
“I want mine to go super far the first time,” he said.
Sister and brother duo Lily Cullen, 11 and Kyle Cullen, 10, of Canton, Mich., engaged in a bit of sibling rivalry. Lily said she was sure her first rocket would be a success, while Kyle, building his second, was even more confident.
“This time [building] was easier. I’m almost done with it but I’m going to add a third or fourth wing probably,” he said.
Budding rocket scientists whose craft flew with particular accuracy were eligible to win prizes in a drawing.
“There are actually two giant inflatable pillars outside and so the idea is that if the kids can get the rocket in between the pillars they can enter to win the raffle. So we’re encouraging some repetitive engineering of trying again and again. The prizes are some really cool rocket kits and some NASA swag — promotional give-away items — and some astronauts’ ice cream,” he said.
Mr. Jefferson added that a National Aeronautic and Space Administration educational outreach program donated prizes for the raffle and decorative stickers for the rockets.
The entire event was free with museum admission.
First Published July 21, 2019, 10:03 p.m.
