Who says that learning and fun cannot come together?
Well, in Fairview International School, Grade 9 Science teachers had facilitated an activity in which students created water-rockets which were designed to travel long distances, i.e. between two sides of the football field, and to be airborne for a relatively long time.
The students constructed their rockets from empty soda bottles and pieces of cardboards, having only pressurized water as its propulsion system. It was a very amazing experience seeing kids showing enthusiasm and excitement as rockets flew up in the sky reaching heights that were even higher than the school building. “It was really fun. I enjoyed the activity so much while realizing how important Science has been in understanding things around us. I got a good grasp of the forces and pressure through the activity”, said a student when asked during the rocket-launching day in the school. Each time.rockets were launched, the group and their classmates would almost always shout for joy and astonishment, knowing that their rockets could do what they had designed it to do.
There were more than 20 water-rockets launched and flew high before the eyes of around 150 students gathered around the school’s football field. The water-rockets, apart from their amazing aesthetic appeals, show elements of beauty, streamlining, inertia, and balance. Each one of these simple but innovative and creative designs represents both students’ arts skills and scientific understanding which collectively shows that the students in the school are developing holistically.
All the Grade 9 Science teachers agreed on doing this rocket-launching activity again next school year.
According to them, this was a good starter for Physics lesson and just as all the students have claimed, the event can engage the students more in class and help them look at Science as a more interesting and challenging field where FUN and LEARNING can be done all at once.