There’s nothing quite like the countdown to a launch to spark excitement — and that energy was felt from the moment schools arrived at the recent Rocket Cars event run by Technology Education New Zealand (TENZ) in the tech room of Point View School in Auckland.
Inspired by Wonder Project rockets, Year 5 and 6 students were challenged to design and build their own water-powered rocket cars using K’NEX. The learning focus? None, other than the laws of motion developed by Isaac Newton.
A High-Energy Start
As schools arrived, students dove straight into hands-on exploration with Meccanoid and Micronoid robot demos. The room buzzed with curiosity and conversation as tamariki shared STEM learning experiences from their own kura. It was a powerful reminder of the growing momentum of STEM and STEAM education across Aotearoa.
The event was expertly led by Stuart Rankin, TENZ Council member and Specialist STEM teacher at Point View School, who balanced humour, precision, and deep STEM knowledge to keep students engaged all day. His classroom was a STEM wonderland, packed with inspiring resources, including a rare LEGO STEM set featuring Sir Isaac Newton!
Setting the Science Context
A special guest appearance from ‘Isaac Newton’ (via BrainPOP) introduced students to the three Laws of Motion in a way that was accessible and engaging.
To build inspiration, students also watched a water-powered car demonstration video:
Suddenly, the theory had context.
Force.
Motion.
Action and reaction..
It was time to put ideas into practice.
Exploring, Planning, Creating
Students began by freely exploring K’NEX, connecting pieces in countless combinations, experimenting with structure, strength, and stability. This playful tinkering phase allowed them to discover how components worked before committing to a final design.
With planning sheets in hand, teams mapped out their ideas before constructing their cars around a plastic bottle, the pressure chamber that would power their vehicle.
Conversations quickly turned to engineering thinking:
- Where does the car need to be strongest?
- How will force travel through the structure?
- What might break under pressure?
Test. Blast. Improve. Repeat.
The bike pumps were calibrated to the same PSI for every group, ensuring a fair test and consistent variables. From there, the design thinking process came alive:
Test → Blast → Break → Improve → Tinker → Blast → Improve → Iterate
Failures were celebrated as learning moments. Stuart circulated, offering small but strategic tips to each team after every test. Students adjusted wheel alignment, reinforced weak joins, redistributed weight, and refined bottle positioning.
It was authentic technology education at its best — hands-on, iterative, and grounded in scientific understanding.
Safety First
A key part of the day was a clear safety demonstration. Students were shown exactly how to operate the pumps and launch systems safely, and expectations were followed meticulously every single time. High energy, and high responsibility.
Prizegiving and Celebration
The day concluded with a prizegiving celebration with the Titoirangi School team taking out the top prize. Students were absolutely stoked with their prizes, kindly donated by TENZ member, Cybersoul. More importantly, they left with a deep understanding of Newton’s Laws, not just as theory, but as lived experience.
All in all?
The kids had an absolute blast… in every sense of the word!
