Grant_Edwards
Well-Known Member
I've volunteered to organize and supervise a model rocket group build and subsequent launch with my niece's girl scout troop. This will be sometime next spring, so I've got a few months to prepare. It's a "junior" troop (grades 4-5), and IIRC there are nine girls in the troop. I'd appreciate any words of wisdom others might have to offer after having done something similar.
Kit Choice?
Estes has a number of bulk packs available, but it wouldn't have to be an Estes bulk pack. It would be really great to get the build done in one session — maybe 2 hrs? I'm thinking that gluing individual balsa fins is probably not feasible for a single-session build, and may be a bit too much to manage with a group of (mostly) 1st time builders, and a 1st time "teacher". I have no doubt that all of the girls could individually handle glue-on balsa fins in a different setting. OTOH, I'd like to do something more than "snap-together". I thought that the Estes Generic E2X looked like a good candidate. I may order a few of them and do a trial run with my niece and her brothers sometime over the winter.
The E2X requires some gluing (all with PVA glue):
The way the E2X engine mount and body tube are attached to the plastic tail fin unit is rather clever: it uses PVA glue and and everything is pretty much self-aligning. The most difficult step will be gluing the launch lug onto the body tube. I may buy some 1/8 steel rod and cut it into 12" chunks for use as lug alignment tools. I can make some wood blocks to stick the rods into and then we've got instant display stands.
I'm trying to resist the temptation to ditch the traditional Estes rubber-band-trifold shock cord mount and attach kevlar line to the engine mount. For a 1st build, let's just follow the printed instructions...
I looked at a few of the "custom rocket" kits, but they all had two-piece plastic nosecones that require using plastic cement to glue the nosecone together. It seems petty to complain about something like that when the kit is $6, and I'm sure that saves some money, but it seemed a bit much for a 1st time single-session build. I really like Semroc kits, but none of the ones I've seen are amenable to a single-session build. And somehow I think that the nostalgia factor will be lost on the girls — and their parents. There might be a grandparent or two that would smile when seeing some of the Semroc kits.
Finishing
All the E2X components are white, so with a few markers, paint-pens, and stickers I'm hoping they can produce a somewhat decent looking model with some individuality. I'll probably scrounge some extra stickers and slide-on decals so there are a few more choices available.
Do user-printed printed stickers or water-slide decals end up looking OK? I'd love to print up some decals/stickers with the girls names, some sort of troop number insignia, girl scout logos (that's probably not quite legal), and various colors of stripes and patterns. All I have at my house is a B/W laser printer, but I can get access to color inkjet or laser printers if needed.
They can take them home and spray-paint them if they want, but turning nine 10-year-olds loose with spray cans in the back yard isn't in the plans — I can barely be trusted with spray paint. I may offer to clear coat them if they want to leave them with me. I don't think we'll try spraying a clear coat on them and then sending them home with them that evening.
Sharing Tools?
How many "sets" of tools (scissors, glue bottles, etc.) do I need? Having only one of everything seems insufficient. Should I plan on enough so that everybody has one of everything they need?
Curriculum?
What sorts of activities/demos/lessons (other than the actual building) work well and what don't? I know Estes has some curricula and materials that I need to look into — any comments on Estes curricula?
Other thoughts:
Is one launchpad+controller enough for a group of nine? I've seen photos of scouting launch events that had 4 or more launch rods set up, but I think they were always for larger groups. I do have a second launchpad, but not a second controller — though I've got most of the parts on hand to build one.
What Else?
What have I forgotten to ask about that I'm going to wish I had?
Kit Choice?
Estes has a number of bulk packs available, but it wouldn't have to be an Estes bulk pack. It would be really great to get the build done in one session — maybe 2 hrs? I'm thinking that gluing individual balsa fins is probably not feasible for a single-session build, and may be a bit too much to manage with a group of (mostly) 1st time builders, and a 1st time "teacher". I have no doubt that all of the girls could individually handle glue-on balsa fins in a different setting. OTOH, I'd like to do something more than "snap-together". I thought that the Estes Generic E2X looked like a good candidate. I may order a few of them and do a trial run with my niece and her brothers sometime over the winter.
The E2X requires some gluing (all with PVA glue):
- build a simple engine mount (clip, block, no centering rings),
- glue mount into the fin unit
- glue the body tube onto the fin unit
- glue on the launch lug
- glue in a tri-fold shock cord mount
The way the E2X engine mount and body tube are attached to the plastic tail fin unit is rather clever: it uses PVA glue and and everything is pretty much self-aligning. The most difficult step will be gluing the launch lug onto the body tube. I may buy some 1/8 steel rod and cut it into 12" chunks for use as lug alignment tools. I can make some wood blocks to stick the rods into and then we've got instant display stands.
I'm trying to resist the temptation to ditch the traditional Estes rubber-band-trifold shock cord mount and attach kevlar line to the engine mount. For a 1st build, let's just follow the printed instructions...
I looked at a few of the "custom rocket" kits, but they all had two-piece plastic nosecones that require using plastic cement to glue the nosecone together. It seems petty to complain about something like that when the kit is $6, and I'm sure that saves some money, but it seemed a bit much for a 1st time single-session build. I really like Semroc kits, but none of the ones I've seen are amenable to a single-session build. And somehow I think that the nostalgia factor will be lost on the girls — and their parents. There might be a grandparent or two that would smile when seeing some of the Semroc kits.
Finishing
All the E2X components are white, so with a few markers, paint-pens, and stickers I'm hoping they can produce a somewhat decent looking model with some individuality. I'll probably scrounge some extra stickers and slide-on decals so there are a few more choices available.
Do user-printed printed stickers or water-slide decals end up looking OK? I'd love to print up some decals/stickers with the girls names, some sort of troop number insignia, girl scout logos (that's probably not quite legal), and various colors of stripes and patterns. All I have at my house is a B/W laser printer, but I can get access to color inkjet or laser printers if needed.
They can take them home and spray-paint them if they want, but turning nine 10-year-olds loose with spray cans in the back yard isn't in the plans — I can barely be trusted with spray paint. I may offer to clear coat them if they want to leave them with me. I don't think we'll try spraying a clear coat on them and then sending them home with them that evening.
Sharing Tools?
How many "sets" of tools (scissors, glue bottles, etc.) do I need? Having only one of everything seems insufficient. Should I plan on enough so that everybody has one of everything they need?
Curriculum?
What sorts of activities/demos/lessons (other than the actual building) work well and what don't? I know Estes has some curricula and materials that I need to look into — any comments on Estes curricula?
Other thoughts:
- Clamp an engine to a fencepost and ignite it?
- Aerodynamic stabilty demo?
- Swing test?
- Cardboard rocket profile cutout in front of a fan?
Is one launchpad+controller enough for a group of nine? I've seen photos of scouting launch events that had 4 or more launch rods set up, but I think they were always for larger groups. I do have a second launchpad, but not a second controller — though I've got most of the parts on hand to build one.
What Else?
What have I forgotten to ask about that I'm going to wish I had?