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Rocket Lab Stageshow
The Rocket Lab Stageshow has dazzled grade 6 classes
from around the province, teaching principles of motion from the Air
and Aerodynamics unit with a fresh perspective. As with all of our programs,
this stageshow encourages interaction with the audience, welcoming tough
questions, analytical and creative thinking (how is a glass of orange
juice similar to a firecracker?), and lots of fun audience participation.
The stageshow splashes graphics across three large plasma screens to
give curricular material visual accessibility unavailable in the conventional
classroom.
Newton’s Laws of Motion, often largely a matter of memorization
at school, are brought to life before the students in the context of
rocketry: our rocket cart (complete with Shop-Vac, pinwheel, double-barrelled
air cannon, air-pressured rocket, bicycle pump and foam balls) brings
your students face-to-face with the physics of rocketry. The laws of
motion are contextualized within the history of rocket science—from
the ancient Greeks and Chinese through Newton, Tsiolkovsky and Goddard.
Students will find everyday examples--from balloons to sports to automotives—to
connect their new rocket-knowledge with the rest of their knowledge,
showing the relevance of Newton’s Laws beyond rocketry. Students
will learn why launching a rocket into space is such an amazing accomplishment,
the regularity with which this feat is accomplished, and the fundamentals
of a successful rocket launch. Who said that being a rocket scientist
is tricky?
Curricular Links:
Grade 6: Air and Aerodynamics
Learner Outcomes:
SpacePort closely matches its programs to Alberta Learning’s Programs
of Study for elementary and junior high grades. We are always happy to
fax or email a detailed outline of how our programs match Specific Learner
Expectations (SLEs) and General Learner Expectations (GLEs) as established
by Alberta Learning. Please call or email our Educational Program Director
for further information.
Cool and relevant space facts:
To overcome gravity and reach space, rockets need to accelerate to at
least 30,000 kilometres per hour within about eight minutes. This incredible
feat is even more amazing considering the immense mass of many rockets.
All content © 2004 Calgary SpacePort
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