Our parent helper today was Goetz, Isa’s father, and he planned such an exciting activity for us:  boats and rockets!  Goetz is an engineer and was thrilled to bring some of his professional enthusiasm into the classroom.  He developed two means of demonstrating the power of compressed air to propel an object.  First, he used a small wooden boat with a balloon attached and sailed it in the water table.  He blew up the balloon and when he let go, it slowly bubbled it’s way around the sensory bin.  The kids were blown away!

After the boat demonstration, we took a trip to the park to see this rocket we had been hearing so much about.  Let me say this now:  it lived up to the hype.  Again, Goetz used air and water to propel the rocket, which was made of a two-liter bottle tricked out with some sweet wings and fins.  He filled it about half way with water, then corked the top, inserted the needle of a bicycle tire pump, inverted the rocket onto a rocket stand and began pumping.  When it flew, it really flew!  The pressure of the air eventually blew the cork out of the top and as the air and water rushed out of the bottle, it flew straight up into the air!  We were all impressed and awe-struck.  After the initial demonstration, the children took turns helping to pump and fire the rocket.  It was incredible and exciting every time!

Although the concepts of compression and air pressure seem out of reach for our young Tugboats, most of them have already had exposure to them in some form or another.  Blowing up a balloon and seeing it race around the room when you let go is one example that most children are familiar with.  By exposing them to more examples and beginning the conversation about the science behind what’s happening, as well as the language used, we are laying the foundation so that when they are ready to fully understand these concepts, they will have a greater chance of success.