Click on the first picture to flip through a photostream of October 20, 2012 SECME Water Rocket Design Seminar in the Acreage)
The Seminole Ridge SECME (science-engineering-communication-math education) club hosted a model rocket design seminar on Saturday, October 20, 2012 at the Acreage Branch Library, with launches at Acreage Community Park - 50 students, 15 school coordinators, 25 parents, and 2 district administrators attend the day long event to work on water rockets. Coaches Ed Batchelor and Erich Landstrom provided Palm Beach County students with the place, the parts and the prompts for their Olympiad entries.
Working in teams, SECME students constructed a simple water rocket from two-liter soft drink bottles and other materials. The bottle has a nose cone for streamlining and fins for stability. The rocket is powered by air pressure and water, and judged by longest hang time. Seminar students easily achieved flights of six seconds, with an record of 7.2 seconds of air aloft hang time for the day.
UPDATE: I received this feedback from teacher Liz Wenk, at West Boca Raton Community High School
Hi! I just wanted to thank you so much for the water rocket workshop on Saturday. It was extremely informative and also fun! I forgot to turn in the evaluation form, but that is basically the feedback I can offer. I came in with little knowledge of how the competition would work, and by the time that I left I felt comfortable using the equipment at our school. My students loved it and definitely have a better idea of what direction they want to take in designing their rocket. Thanks again for a well planned and executed workshop... I look forward to the ones to come!In the SECME program, students are required to design, build, and test a variety of engineering research projects throughout the year. SECME student teams will construct water bottle rockets from two-liter soft drink bottles and other materials to launch for maximum hang time. The rocket is powered by air pressure and water. Essays, artwork, and banners communicating student interpretations of this year’s theme, “THINK it's imPOSSIBLE? THINK sySTEMatically. THINK SECME!” will be displayed and judged. The engineering Olympiad competition in February is the culmination of projects completed as a result of classroom activities, and of students, parents, and teachers participating in Saturday engineering design seminars. Design seminars familiarize students with the events in the annual Olympiad completion. They provide the people, the place, and the parts to work on SECME submissions.
