New, 11/10/08, (steaming) video improved instructions for making the overhead water rocket launcher
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bpFsoaOLTM
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy8WSSKY_n4
These are very short: only a few seconds long. If you don't know how to play them, see the instructions at the bottom of the page.
Here is a launch a the Salladasburg Elementary School, where my teenage students visited and put on a science road show for the younger kids. And here is a part of the video in slow motion. If you play the videos with a QuickTime player you can advance one frame at a time.
At these events I encourage the kids to shout out Sir Issac Newton's name and his Third Law of Motion (For every action there is an opposite reation) before each countdown. After the launch I show them the cloud that forms inside the bottle because of the sudden depressurization.
Here is another launch, regular speedt and slow.
Here is a video from another science road show at the Nippenose Elementary School. Notice that the student pulls down much too hard (throwing all his weight into it) and bends the launcher before it releases the rocket. That leads me to suggest reinforcing the launcher with another piece of pipe taped to the first just to strengthen it. And communicate with kids that a gentle tug is all it takes to trigger the rocket. The rocket still went on the roof. Normal speed and slow motion.
And here is another Nippenose launch.
Go to the Water Rocket introduction page
Back to the Science Toy Maker homepage.
If you have a fast internet connection, you should be able to simply point and click to play the short QuickTime movie. If that doesn't work, right click the mouse and "save as..." Remember where you save the file and what you call it.