4M Water Rocket Kit, DIY Science Space Stem Toys, For Boys & Girls Ages 8+

Very fun for all ages - adults liked playing with it as much as the kids. Works great. "A good time that was had by all". Comes with - 2 rubber cork plugs - 2 sets of 3 fins (and a spare fin for each set, tho they seem pretty durable, no breaks yet) - 2 plastic air tubes to connect tire pump to rubber cork in water bottle. - 4 small plastic connectors for connecting tire pump to the rubber cork via clear plastic tube (basically, one connector thru rubber cork, connect clear tube, another connector for bike pump; 2 sets) Minimal assembly: Insert tire pump connector thru the rubber cork provided so it sticks out thru wider part of rubber cork (only goes 1 way, cant mess it up) Connect clear plastic tube to connector on rubber cork, and insert other small connector into the other end of the clear tube to connect to tire pump (basically, 1 connector for each end of clear tube). Fill water bottle 1/3 full with water. Press the rubber cork into bottom of bottle. Press HARD. The harder you press it in, the more pressure is needed to pop it out and the higher it will go. Stand rocket up on fins as its launch pad. Start pumping the bike tire pump until the cork pops out and the rocket launches. (While reading about these bottle rockets, I could never figure out what the release mechanism was to actually launch the rocket - turns out its a function of how tightly you insert the rubber cork, thats it). We were launching 200-300 feet in the air once we figured out we just need to push the rubber cork in harder. While you can use any 1 liter bottle, I prefer the Seagrams Tonic 1 liter bottle - cuz then I have an excuse to make Gin & Tonics too! However, the Polar brand Tonic bottle is more streamlined, looks more like a rocket. And you can cut the top off another bottle to attach it on top of the main engine bottle for a bigger rocket, and a more streamlined look. (pointed nose vs flat bottom of main bottle on top) Google around and you will see examples.

This is a pretty great kit, especially for the price. It was pretty easy to build, in fact I was able to let my daughters do most of the steps, and we had it together very quickly. The fins are pretty heavy-duty and haven't broken yet, even after many flights and landings; I've been careful to make sure that the fin assembly gets screwed on by the center fitting, though, rather than using the fins themselves as levers - I think that might break them. An extra fin was included. I was disappointed at first that there's no specific release mechanism - you just wedge the plug up into the mouth of the bottle, and pump until it lets go. However, this turns out to be part of the fun of the process, as you never know quite when it will take off; it also lets you change up how high it goes (and how hard it is to pump up) by how hard you jam in the plug. (That is, for my younger daughter, I could put it in relatively gently - or let her put it in - and it would let go at a lower pressure, which was within her ability to pump it up.) It can go quite high, probably 100 feet on a good shot - we have done most of our shooting from the middle of a golf fairway in order to have enough space. Now, if you're handy, you could build this from parts in a hardware store and an hour or two at your workbench - but the fitting on the plug is actually pretty clever in its design (so that the pressure tends to make the hose more secure rather than blowing it off), and the fin assembly is hardy but easy to disassemble and reassemble. All in all it's great fun and a worthwhile buy.

My daughter had to make a volcano for a school project and this is the one that we chose to use. It comes with a 4 piece mold that has to be assembled, plaster of Paris, rubber bands (to hold the mold together), and paints and paper cut-outs to decorate the completed volcano. It also comes with an eruption chamber that stays in the volcano so that it can be made to "erupt" with baking soda and vinegar. The mold is small and rather flimsy and snaps together and the kit comes with two rubber bands to help hold the mold together once it's filled with the plaster of Paris. We opted to also add several metal paper clips as well. Even with the extra clips, several small gaps were present and we wound up having to file off the seams with a fingernail file once it was dry. We mixed up the plaster but I knew (from previous product reviews I had read on here) that it wouldn't completely fill the mold. We had purchased a small box of plaster mix and added it to the mix that came with the kit and so we then mixed up enough to fill it up. Next we added the plaster of Paris to the mold until it was completely full. Be sure to gently tap the mold several times to get it around the eruption chamber. We tapped it several times but still wound up having a spot at the top that did not have any plaster. Once the plaster dried completely my daughter removed the mold and it came out almost perfect. We wound up having to mix up a little more plaster to fill in the blank spot at the top. My daughter then painted it and we attached it to a sturdy piece of cardboard with double stick mounting tape. The mold and chamber can be reused if needed, so we've put it up for my younger daughter to use next year. Overall, for the price, it's a good value and I'd pick this one again.

Didn't come with a bottle for the tornado/water, so you need to have one ready (and have the right size). Ended up working great for a bit, but then leaking through, messing up the mechanical bits and making a puddle under.

Nice product good for teaching students about water pressure and it's uses in science

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Works well for my STEM activities. Easy to assemble and works like a charm

Fun produt