On Apr 27, 2023, any student in Design Tech got the opportunity to shoot off a bottle rocket they had been working on. An interview was done with Gage Ahearn, and he was able to give an insight as to what went into making and launching these bottle rockets. He said that the project took about a week.

He talked about the first few days being dedicated to planning, drawing, and schematics, and after that, they spent three days building it. He told us that he also planned the wings, how big they would be, and where they would be placed, using schematics. He also provided some information on the building process.

Gage said they used a 2-liter bottle for the body of their rocket, cardstock paper for the wings, and a pink styrofoam base. Mr. Secino cut that piece out for them, and they sanded it down to fit their rocket. Most students found this part to be fun. When they hot glued these pieces onto the rocket, they filled the bottle up with cold water to avoid melting the bottle. However, he did say that they had to move quickly, as there was a lot to do and little time to do it.

They shot the rockets off in the back of the school. When they prepared to shoot them off, they made sure there was sand and 1 liter of water in the rocket to keep it balanced. Everyone had different jobs outside when shooting them off, some people filled the rockets and brought them to Mr. Secino, some people measured the distance they shot off, and Mr. Secino filled the rockets with air using an air compressor to have the energy build-up so that when he released the clip, the rocket shot off. They also had to keep track of the weight of each rocket.

Overall, the students had a lot of fun with this activity and enjoyed being able to shoot off their own rocket that they had put effort into making.