Rockets
Key Stage 2
The Activity
A brief history of rockets.
Find out how rockets work and the forces that act upon
them.
Using what you have learnt, design, test launch and
modify your own rocket in a mini scientific experiment.
How Rockets Work
Rockets must generate thrust to counteract gravity.
Rockets create thrust by burning fuel (usually hydrogen and oxygen). Rockets carry their own
oxygen supply as there is none of the gas in space.
The fuel is ejected at high speed, causing the rocket to move in the opposite direction.
Another force rockets need to overcome is air resistance (drag).
To lessen the effect of drag in the atmosphere, rockets are streamlined to make them more
aerodynamic. It doesn’t matter what shape they are once they are in space.
Around the Museum
Take a visit to the Battle of Britain ‘Sunderland
Hall’ to see the museums’ own V2 rocket.
Go to Bomber Hall and find our Avro Vulcan, see how the bombs displayed underneath are a
similar shape to rockets.
Turn over…………..
Around the Museum
Throughout their history, manufacturers have aimed to design faster and more efficient
aircraft.
As the appetite for speed increased, particularly with the introduction of the jet engine, so did
the need to develop more aerodynamic designs.
Visit the planes below to see how advancement in aerodynamic design has increased
aeroplanes maximum speed.
Bristol F.2b Fighter (Historic Hangars),
1917,
182km/h at 3050m
Supermarine Spitfire 1 (Battle of Britain),
1938,
570km/h at 5790m
Gloster Meteor F8 (Historic Hangars),
1950,
960km/h at 3050m
Eurofighter Typhoon (Milestones of Flight),
2003,
Mach 2.0+
Any other queries?
Please contact us on 020 8358 4896