Up, up, and away!

Girlstart After School launched a new school year with a fun and creative engineering project: Paper Rockets! Before building their rockets, girls discussed their expectations and hopes for the new semester. Groups reviewed the Engineering Design Process – this is the foundation of each girl’s growth at Girlstart! What does the Engineering Design Process look like?

I. Ask a question
II. Brainstorm ideas or conduct research
III. Build a prototype
IV. Test and revise

At Girlstart, each girl is encouraged to share her ideas – no idea is too “crazy” because it could inspire another idea! After girls share their ideas, they work together to turn their plans into reality, test their design, and improve it. Finally, students are reminded that the design process is cyclical. One question girls often ask each other: “How can we make this even more awesome?!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For their first activity of the semester, girls were challenged to design a rocket capable of flight. Students predicted that a thin or wide body and a loose or tight nose would help a rocket fly faster, then built their rockets accordingly. The girls learned that many forces, such as gravity and air pressure, were at play. Then it was time to test!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Girls discussed possible additions to help their rockets fly faster and farther: adding wings, making the body short or long, or adding more force during the launch sequence. Girlstart After School has officially launched into an exciting new semester!