“We are learning about aerodynamics,” said SEM teacher Aubrey Vanderlinden. “We’re looking at what makes an object in flight fly better. We started out with a paper airplane and then made rockets. They have to figure out lift, drag, weight and why wings need to be in a certain position and why a cone is better than a flat top.”

The kids launched their rockets using a bicycle pump connected to a PVC pipe and a sprinkler valve trigger that releases air pressure into the rocket, said Vanderlinden. “It shows the difference between how the rocket flies. Is there more drag? Is it aerodynamic or more streamline?”

She gives the students a worksheet before the launch where they have to predict how far it will go before they fly it. “They get to launch it three times and they have to record the difference,” Vanderlinden said. “I set up planets. The Sun is 50 feet, 100 feet for Mercury and every 25 feet for the other planets. They had to figure out how far it actually flew and why they thought it would go farther or less than what their prediction was.”

They also watched their peers’ rockets to see if they performed better, she said. “They had to see, were their wings attached a certain way? Were they more stable? Did they glide better? Whose went the farthest and flew the best.”

Vanderlinden has taught the SEM (Schoolwide Enrichment Model) for two years. “I get to come up with the ideas,” she said. “I had a contraption in the classroom that I thought would be fun for the kids to experience here. I took it home and experimented with it. It was so much fun and it was successful.”

Normally the rocket launch would be part of the Olympiad but it was cancelled due to COVID. “It’s a day of different events,” said Vanderlinden. “Schools participate in math, science games, circuit boards and Crypto. It’s a districtwide competition. It’s delightful, the kids have so much fun.”

She said science is her favorite subject to teach. “It’s so hands on. We do experiments every week. These are really bright kids. They’re inquisitive and want to know how things work. I learn a lot from them – it’s fun.”