What comes down must go up during this school exercise

By Irene Bowers
Correspondent

VIRGINIA BEACH

The pressure was on at Baylake Pines School as eighth-graders prepared their rockets for launching.

Should they increase water amounts or air pressure, and had they correctly fashioned their parachutes,

"I am pretty much guessing now, and after the first launch, I'll have a better idea of what to do," said Zach Morrison, 13. His goal, he admitted, was to best the altitude gained by his sister's rocket in last year's launch.

Sibling rivalry and educated guesses mixed with the fuel, as the 13 students, under science teacher Barry Muha, faced physics on the launch pad in the final days of October.

"I named my rocket the Muha Express II because my brother had the first Express a few years ago," said Mitchell O'Brien, 13, of his black duct-taped missile. "I want to beat his record."

The rocket launch, in its fourth year, is just one of the interactive ways Muha teaches science.

"When students see rockets launch because the escaping air forces the water out and pushes the rocket upward, then they have learned that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction," said Muha, who started teaching five years ago after a career in the Navy.

"It is definitely more interesting to learn the laws of physics this way," said Spencer Hendrix, 13. "Seeing it makes it easier to remember."

Students researched rockets in class and built them at home. All rockets used a 2 liter plastic bottle as the body, with nose cone and parachute designs of the students' making.

After adding 3 to 7 inches of water, the rockets were attached to an air compressor that applied pressure amounts. Two flights were made and recorded, with altitude gauged by a lune-ometer and the application of trigonometry. Students used information from the first launch to make adjustments on the second day.

As with many happenings at the private school on Shore Drive, rockets have become tradition. Parents and younger students attend the launches to witness the rocket wizardry.

"It gives kids a new enthusiasm for science," said Trish O'Brien, who watched her son Mitchell's rocket launch to the class high of about 373 feet.

"They do a great job of bringing science outside of the classroom," said Mitchell's father, Eddie O'Brien. "It doesn't hurt that this appeals to the competitive side of kids and makes them figure out how to go higher and farther."

The top three altitudes were attained by Dima Holt, Zach and Mitchell, both of whom bested their siblings' scores.

"Actually, I asked my sister Kiera about it after the first day," said Zach. "And she told me to increase air pressure and water, so I better give her credit for helping me beat her."