Skip to Main Content
SearchMenu
Close
Close 
Search

Rocket Racers

Physics Lab

Any machine's big-picture success hinges on each individual piece of its physics puzzle.

Engineer air-propelled rockets using key tenets of physics such as mass, acceleration, and kinetic and potential energy. Launch rockets and measure distance using an altitude tracker.

Reserve This Program

Offered virtually via Zoom* or in person at your site, lab experiences last 45 minutes. Each session accommodates up to 30 individuals. Experiences are primarily offered during core hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Requests for alternate days or times will be considered.
*Zoom is preferred, but you may share other desired platforms during the reservation process.

Note: Due to COVID-19 pandemic, in-person offerings are suspended until further notice. For updated information on how FIU is responding to the pandemic, please visit FIU’s coronavirus page.

Virtual

Begin Reservation 

  • Offered Monday–Friday*
  • Requires a strong internet connection
  • $200 for first lab; $145 for each additional lab of the same theme on the same day

In Person

All physical programs are currently on indefinite hold.

  • Primarily offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays*
  • Hosted at your site; requires a classroom, library or other quiet setting
  • $250 for first lab; $175 for each additional lab of the same theme on the same day

Within 48 hours after you submit your request, an Education Outreach team member will contact you to discuss your proposed itinerary. Once everything is reviewed and agreed upon, the invoice will be sent.

K-12 Florida Education Standards

The following standards are focused by suggested grade levels and aligned to Florida Department of Education benchmarks.

  • 3rd Grade

    SC.3.P.10.1: Identify some basic forms of energy such as light, heat, sound, electrical, and mechanical.

    SC.3.10.2: Recognize that energy has the ability to cause motion or create change.

    SC.3.N.1.2: Compare the observations made by different groups using the same tools and seek reasons to explain the differences across groups. 

  • 4th Grade

    SC.4.N.1.2: Compare the observations made by different groups using multiple tools and seek reasons to explain the differences across groups.

    SC.4.P.10.2: Investigate and describe that energy has the ability to cause motion or create change.

    SC.4.P.10.4: Describe how moving water and air are sources of energy and can be used to move things.

  • 5th Grade

    SC.5.N.1.3: Recognize and explain the need for repeated experimental trials.

    SC.5.P.13.1: Identify familiar forces that cause objects to move, such as pushes or pulls, including gravity acting on falling objects.

    SC.5.P.13.2: Investigate and describe that the greater the force applied to it, the greater the change in motion of a given object.

  • 6th Grade

    SC.6.P.13.1: Investigate and describe types of forces including contact forces and forces acting at a distance, such as electrical, magnetic, and gravitational.

    SC.6.P.13.2: Explore the Law of Gravity by recognizing that every object exerts gravitational force on every other object and that the force depends on how much mass the objects have and how far apart they are.

    SC.6.P.13.3: Investigate and describe that an unbalanced force acting on an object changes its speed, or direction of motion, or both.

  • 7th Grade

    SC.7.P.11.2: Investigate and describe the transformation of energy from one form to another.

    SC.7.N.1.2: Differentiate replication (by others) from repetition (multiple trials).

    SC.7.N.1.4: Identify test variables (independent variables) and outcome variables (dependent variables) in an experiment.

  • 8th Grade

    SC.8.N.1.2: Design and conduct a study using repeated trials and replication.

    SC.8.N.1.6: Understand that scientific investigations involve the collection of relevant empirical evidence, the use of logical reasoning, and the application of imagination in devising hypotheses, predictions, explanations and models to make sense of the collected evidence.

    SC.8.N.4.2: Explain how political, social, and economic concerns can affect science, and vice versa.