Although this activity can be delivered across KS2, the optimum position is at Year 5. Linking into the curriculum, it gives children the opportunity to design, build, predict, test and evaluate different rocket designs then improve them by identifying features and characteristics that support stable flight.

The children are given a mission briefing and instructions on how to build a standard fuselage and nose cone, then work in pairs to develop their own design improvements. They collect data about their rockets on a worksheet, prompting discussion about weight distribution, balance and surface area. They make predictions and share their ideas with the class. Overall there is an understanding that mistakes are expected, respected, inspected and corrected and children are encouraged to share their learning.

Every school setting takes this challenge in a different direction, and this is achieved by giving the children freedom to explore and create within safe parameters. For example:

• There will be discussion about forces, such as friction, thrust and gravity.
• Discussion about sustainable development with reusable and recycled materials used efficiently.
• Application of maths to real world projects.
• Understanding the effect of environmental factors on rocket performance.