Rocket Workshops

The University of Leicester Department of Physics and Astronomy runs rocket workshops for school students (and their teachers!). These workshops give students an overview of rocket technology and the reasons for flying a rocket, and then provide them with an opportunity to assemble and fly their very own.

The workshops aim to promote student enthusiasm in science by relating it to something that they will find exciting and interesting. The day begins with a talk about how rockets work, including a section about J-PEX, the Joint Astrophysical Plasmadynamic Experiment, a joint Univeristy of Leicester/NRL/NASA project that flew on a NASA Black Brant sounding rocket in 2001. (To learn more about J-PEX click on the button above). The students are shown videos of the J-PEX launch and the flight timeline is explained. After discussing the safety aspects of rocket flight, the students will assemble their own rocket kits, before launching them and (hopefully) recovering them on the University playing fields. An evaluation of the flight rounds off the day.

For more information, you can view the How to be a Rocket Scientist presentation online, or e-mail Professor Martin Barstow on mab@star.le.ac.uk.

Fun Photos!