Thank you for coming Thank you for coming Thank you for coming today! We hope you today! We hope you today! We hope you had fun and maybe had fun and maybe had fun and maybe learned something learned something learned something

about gravity, about gravity, about gravity, energy and applied energy and applied energy and applied

force!force!force! ######################################################

Wellington Public LibraryWellington Public LibraryWellington Public Library PresentsPresentsPresents

Second Saturday Second Saturday Second Saturday STEAM SpectacularSTEAM SpectacularSTEAM Spectacular

Project LaunchProject LaunchProject Launch

Pumpkins, Airplanes, Pumpkins, Airplanes, Pumpkins, Airplanes, Rockets & other things that Rockets & other things that Rockets & other things that

flyflyfly

Exploring the Tools & Energy Exploring the Tools & Energy Exploring the Tools & Energy behind the Blastbehind the Blastbehind the Blast---OffOffOff

Welcome to the Library’s STEAM Spectacular!

Did you know that STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math? We plan to study all of those things during our events! All kinds of things fly-airplanes, birds, rockets, bal-loons, pumpkins...Wait! What? Pumpkins?!! Sure!! Especially if you launch them! Today, we are going to make some candy pump-kins fly by building a machine that will hurl that chewy sweet through the air. “Punkin Chunkers” come in different shapes and sizes. All of them use force to launch the pumpkin. Sir Isaac Newton formulated the laws of motion and gravity. Gravity is a force on everything on earth. To overcome gravity and launch something in the air, another force must be applied. There are different types of forces that can be applied to set objects in motion. The motion is the result of the applied force being greater than the force of grav-ity. However, the forces must always return to a balanced state. Check out some of the cool things we have listed in this book. Chunk some pumpkins, shoot off a rocket, fly an airplane, and play a round of Angry Birds. Think about ways you can launch things or design your own launcher!

Catapults Catapults use some type of spring or stretched band to store energy. When the trigger is released, the stored en-ergy becomes a force applied to the pumpkin which hurls it into the air. There are lots of different catapults you can make.

Craft Stick Catapult You need: 7 craft sticks 3 rubber bands 1 milk carton cap (or similar) Glue Cotton Balls or something to launch. 1. Stack 5 craft sticks together, and rubber band the ends. 2. Stack 2 craft sticks together, and wrap a rubber band

around the very end. 3. Separate the 2 craft sticks. Place the stack of 5 craft

sticks between the 2 craft sticks. 4. Wrap a rubber band around all of the craft sticks to hold

the catapult together. 5. Glue a milk cap {or something similar} on to serve as a

launching platform. 6. Push down on the top craft stick and release to launch

an object from the milk cap.

Binder Clip Catapult You need: 4 craft sticks 1 binder clip (size depends on size of craft sticks) 1 milk carton cap or similar Electrical tape or zip ties 1. Place 2 sticks together and tape the ends. Repeat for

the other pair of sticks. 2. Slip the metal arm of the binder clips between the 2 craft

sticks where they are taped. Repeat for the other set. 3. Glue the milk cap on to serve as a launching platform. 4. Push down on the top craft sticks and release to launch.

Plastic Spoon Catapult

You need: 1 sturdy plastic spoon 1 craft stick Tape or rubber bands 1. Tape the handle of the spoon to the stick. 2. Place the stick on the edge of a table with the spoon

hanging over. 3. Place the object you want to launch in the bowl of the

spoon. 4. Push down on the handle of the spoon and release to

launch your object.

Water Bottle Rocket

You need: An empty plastic bottle Cardboard for rocket nose & fins 4 pencils Scissors Tape A cork Bicycle pump with a needle adaptor Water 1. Push the needle adaptor of the pump through the cork.

It needs to go all the way through so you might have to trim the cork a little bit.

2. Cut the cone and fins out of cardboard. 3. Tape the equally spaced apart on the bottle. This gives

the bottle something to stand on. 4. Decorate the bottle with the cones and fins using the

tape. 5. Fill the bottle one quarter full of water and push the cork

in tightly. 6. Take the bottle outside and connect the pump to the

needle adaptor. Make sure the rocket is standing up. 7. Pump air into the bottle, making sure all spectators

stand back. The bottle will lift off with force after a few seconds.

Rockets

Have you noticed what happens if you let the air out of a balloon? The air goes one way and the balloon moves in the opposite direction. Rockets work in much the same way. Exhaust gases coming out of the engine nozzle at high speed push the rocket forward. Most modern launchers are very complicated and weigh hundreds of tons at liftoff. Most of this weight is fuel, such as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Rockets need so much fuel in order to overcome Earth’s gravity. Only when they reach a speed of 28 000 km/h are they travelling fast enough to enter orbit. Most rockets are made up of two or three stages. When a stage has used up all of its fuel, it is separated to get rid of the dead weight. It then falls back (usually into the ocean and far from populated areas) or burns up in the atmos-phere. Large launchers often get an extra boost from rockets strapped onto the first stage. These may use solid or liquid fuel. They, too, are usually thrown away. Our rockets won’t go into orbit today, but we can still make them fly high. Here are some things to try.

Airplanes, Helicopters & Gliders Today, you are going to see how far you can make your glider fly. Can you also make it land on the runway? Dis-tance and accuracy are two factors to take into considera-tion when launching your airplane. Do you know how to make a paper airplane? There are some great books at the library that show you how or you can find some patterns online. How about a paper airplane launcher?

Paper Airplane Launcher Make a paper airplane. Punch a hole near the nose of the plane. Unbend a paper clip so you have a loop at both ends. Place the smaller loop through the hole. Tape around the hole and the paper clip. Now, turn over a chair or stool, or pound 2 nails in a board; whatever you want to use as arms on your launcher. Loop a rubber band or elastic around the two arms of your launcher. Hook the larger end of the paper clip to the elas-tic and pull back. When you let go, your plane will launch into the wild blue yonder. Can you change the angle from which you shoot to change the trajectory of your plane’s flight?

Flying Fish You need: Paper Ruler Scissors Something to color your fish (if you want) 1. Cut a strip of paper about 8” long and about 1/2” wide. 2. Cut halfway across the strip about 1/2” from one end.

Turn the strip around and do the same thing on the other side. When you lay your strip out flat, the cuts will be on opposite sides.

3. Slip the slot at one end into the slot at the other end. It should look like a little fish.

4. Hold the fish high over your head and drop it. It will spin like mad on it’s way to the ground.

What happens if you make the paper strip longer or shorter? What happens if you make the strip wider or narrower? What happens if you make the tails longer or shorter? What if you make them pointy?

Hoop Glider You need: Scissors Ruler 3”x5” file card Tape Soda straw (not bendable) 1. Cut the file card long way into thirds (1”x5”) 2. Put a piece of tape on the end of one strip. Curl the

paper into a little hoop and tape the ends together 3. Put the other two strips end to end, overlapping a little

bit, and tape them together to form one long strip. Curl the paper into a hoop and tape the ends together.

4. Put one end of a straw on the middle of a strip of tape. Put the big hoop on top of the straw and fold the tape up the sides of the hoop.

5. Put another strip of tape at the other end of the straw. Press the small hoop very gently onto the tape. Move it around until it lines up with the big hoop, then press the tape down firmly.

6. Hold the hoop glider in the middle of the straw, with the little hoop in front, and throw it like a spear.

What happens if you put a paper clip at the bottom of the small hoop? Make a really long hoop glider with two straws. Can you make a double hoop glider?