Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show! - rocketry

Make: Video special, Sylvia's Mini Maker Show

Super-Awesome Sylvia — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:08:50 +0000

Sylvia builds a paper rocket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKmdeCvq_YM

Hey everybody! It's been a crazy summer so far, with two big episodes of my show coming, the editors of MAKE online wanted me to get them a few mini episodes to celebrate July as kids month, so here's the first one! Hope you like it!

Sylvia builds a paper rocket

Dadmin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:04:50 +0000

Mini

Super Awesome Sylvia shows you how to build a paper rocket in this MAKE video special MINI episode--

Welcome to our first Sylvia’s Super Awesome Mini Maker Show! Hey! Did you know you could be a rocket scientist in just one day? Well, a hobby rocket scientist anyways! The field of hobby rocketry is huge, ranging from $5 mini starters to multi-thousand dollar custom made giants that can fly thousands and thousands of feet. Today we’ll show you enough to get you up in the air and crashing in no time!

From the hobby store, you’ll need a complete launch kit (Launch pad w/launch rod & launch controller) plus a few size C-6 rocket engines and electric ignitors (the engines usually come in a pack of three, with safety plugs and ignitors). We could make some of these parts, but for safety it’s best to buy your first set. The only thing left is to build the rocket body itself, for that we’ll need:

White school glue
Thick legal size construction paper, or any other type of paper about that size
A little strip of of cardboard, about 2 inches long
A long cylinder or rod about 3/4” in diameter. Anything from a dowel to a broom handle
A thin plastic drinking straw
A file folder or fancy card stock
Some stickers, markers and other crafty things to decorate the rocket with
A paperclip (optional) to help secure the rocket engine
And some not too sticky masking or painters tape

First, take your paper and wrap it nice and tight around your cylinder against a flat table while you glue. Use tape to secure it if needed. Use the card stock to cut out 3 to 4 fins, and glue them on evenly around the rocket body (or fuselage). You can add more if you want, just go crazy! The minimum number of fins is 4, but there's no real maximum (within reason). We added 4 more tiny ones above the main fins on one of our rockets.

The entire assembly has to stay on the cylinder to dry completely overnight (otherwise there's a risk of the fuselage warping as it dries). Once it’s dry, roll up some card stock to make the nose cone and glue it on. Just be sure and trim off any excess nose cone paper to allow the launch rod to attach freely. Now draw a straight line down the fuselage and glue on two pieces of drinking straw for launch lugs.

To make sure your rocket engine doesn’t fly out through your nose cone when it launches, roll the cardboard into a tight circle, coat it in glue and use an engine to push it into the fuselage just far enough to have a tiny lip of engine sticking out. To ensure the engine doesn’t go anywhere before launch, you can either glue in the engine, or use a straightened paper clip sandwiched in the fuselage and bent over to hold the engine. Even engines that are glued in should have the cardboard engine block installed.

Once dried and decorated, your rocket is ready to launch! Find an open area away from trees and power lines, and set up your launch pad. Insert your ignitor with safety plug, attach the controller, get back to a safe distance, and launch! The greatest thing about these little rockets is they're so cheap to make, you won’t really mind the crash at the end. That’s it! Be sure and experiment with different fin shapes or nose cones. Have fun rocket scientists, and remember, get out there and make something!

Songs used during this mini episode (all licensed under Creative Commons Share-alike v2.5 license):
-The Wavers - Surfin' Mosquito

Ep. Number

See this post on MakeZine.com

Favorite Comments

onemanshow520Great project for kids. And great job by Sylvia
chrisradcliffSylvia is my new hero. Awesome introduction to model rocketry!
579093well no wonder they have honor classes and GT programs! :)
TopachulaNASA, if you're looking for another Capcom - here you have it
wlchaseSWEET! Great work! Don't know if they still do, but Estes, who pioneered the self-contained engines, used to have some awesome technical texts on rocketry math, like center of pressure/center of mass and aerodynamic drag! Keep up the good work, Sylvia!
themaxxrayThis girl is going places. Like to see her make more interesting stuff
laughordie72Great job Sylvia! I've got an old rocket kit I can resurect now thanks to your idea! Keep up the good work.
naturalist92683Go Sylvia! a role model for everyone!
captwasabiSylvia's voice-over on the closing credits is the new internet insanity test. I couldn't listen with out giggling. Awesome video! My son and I will be building some soon!
guns4goodThis little kid is cool! It's great to see young people getting involved with hobbies and crafts. At least she's not glued to her TV or Nintendo DS. Oh, And I'm sure she had parental/adult supervision through this whole process. That's kind of a no-brainer.
suprafanatic1984She could sell ice to eskimos
Loki95531Love your intro! I would give you all five stars if that was still the rating system. I am 40 and you made me want to build a rocket ! good job.
ProbewitchBest video of 2010.

Season

Sylvia Goes to Maker Faire

Dadmin — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 08:23:14 +0000

Full

Ep. Number

Super Awesome Sylvia goes to Maker Faire 2010! it's so epic it takes TWO parts to complete.
In part 1, we visit (in order):

Mauro Ffortisimo, Piano liberator:
http://mauroffortisimo.com

Gogh Bike, the drawing bicycle:
http://sn.im/goghbike

ORB v.2, full color orbital POV display
http://artmagnitude.com

Fish bug, art sculpture:
http://fishbug.net

Project: Making the "Sound Sandwich"
http://lawrencehallofscience.org and http://howtosmile.org

TechShop CNC plasma cutter:
http://techshop.ws

The Theascope (Now as of June 11, called the ForeSight), 3D augmented reality powered by smart phones
http://galaxykate.com

LUNAR Rocket club saucer launch
http://lunar.org

Thermite demo by Jeffery Schwartz
http://amazingrust.com

Super Awesome Sylvia goes to Maker Faire 2010! it's so epic it takes TWO parts to complete.
In part 2, we visit (in order):

The Raygun Gothic Rocket, giant cool silver rocket. 'Nuff said.
http://raygungothicrocket.com

Mondospider, super amazing multilegged electric and steal crawling beasty
http://eatart.org - http://mondospider.com

Land Sharks, EL wire animated ankle-biters
http://sn.im/landsharks

Project: Making something with Scrap
http://scrap-sf.org

Meeting the makers:

Limor Fried
http://ladyada.net - http://adafruit.com (maker of the Drawdio kit!)

EepyBird: Coke + Mentos + Eepybird = Too Much Awesome for one stage
http://eepybird.com

John park, Public TV Make show host
http://jpixl.net - http://blog.makezine.com/archive/author/john_park/

Full episode list, favorite comments, Idea submissions and Sylvia's blog
http://tn42.com/maker-show

Support Sylvia's college goal: M.I.T. by 2019!
http://cafepress.com/SylviasCollegeFund

Songs used during this episode part (all licensed under Creative Commons Share-alike v2.5 license):
-Dhalius - The Road Scene
-The Wavers - The Longest Day, Surfin' Mosquito, Inigo

Season

Favorite Comments

Lawrence Hall of Science (via YouTube)Sylvia, you rock! We are big fans of your show and are so happy to see that you featured the sound sandwich from the Lawrence Hall of Science/SMILE Maker Faire booth. We love the experiments you came up with for the sound sandwich. *High 5!*
UberEgnaro24Sylvia, thanks for making these videos. You are truly inspirational. Can't wait for episode 4!
thrashishanother superawesome show!
doctorzegoSylvia it does my heart good to see that kids are still getting out and making things keep it up!

Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show! - rocketry

Make: Video special, Sylvia's Mini Maker Show

Tags

Sylvia builds a paper rocket

Ep. Number

Favorite Comments

Season

Sylvia Goes to Maker Faire

Ep. Number

Season

Favorite Comments