Space Transporters
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Aim: This activity is used to create a model of a moving craft and discuss its features and the features for space travel.

Equipment:

• hot glue gun;
• cereal packets;
• toilet rolls;
• wrapping paper;
• textas;
• sticky tape;
• glue sticks;
• paint;
• glue.

Method:

Children get background knowledge in learning about rockets and spacecraft and what is used to make these things move into outer space (ie. fire, gas, fuel, burning, create energy). Children then has to bring materials from home that could be used (eg. toilet rolls, cereal boxes etc). Once created, children had to test their space transporter to see the distance it travels. A discussion with the class can result. What their transporter is about and what they used to make it.

Background Knowledge:

A rocket ship uses high energy fuel of some form (eg. nuclear material, fossil fuel) to burn. The debree that is emitted out of the back of the rocket collides with the particles in the atmosphere around it and in just the same way as when you fall over because someone pushes you the collision of this material causes the rocket to move forward. Out in space the number of particles that exist in a cube 1m by 1m by 1m is approximately 100. Down on the earth surface the air around us would have about 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 particles!

There is little or no atmosphere in space. Therefore the movies like Star Wars when you hear loud explosions in space cannot occur since sound needs air or liquid to travel through. The nature of explosions need oxygen also so the explosion would not have happened in the first place unless it is reacting with the oxygen within the spaceship only. Also space ships cannot turn corners unless another mini rocket of the side of the space ship exists.