Model Rocketry with little kids

[wscarvie]

Hi all,

I got back into model rocketry because my older daughter was getting old enough to enjoy working on projects with me. She's give now. I was walking through a hobby store and saw the racks of model rockets. I remembered how much fun it was to build and fly these with my father, so I picked up a simple kit to see if she'd enjoy it.

Our first kits was an Estes Yankee. I thought it would be perfect. But, the balsa fins meant that she had to pretty much watch me build the kit instead of doing anything herself. And, I had to get her excited about the kit over and over again over several days in order to finish it. We never did finish it, actually.

At our first launch together, we went shopping for another kit. She instinctively picked out a kit with a single piece tail section, that needed no paint at all to look good (the Quest Falcon).

The best part, for her, was that she could immediately slap the tail section and nose onto the tube and "zoom" it around the room. She loved that, and I didn't have to worry about the rocket because of it's rugged construction.

Because of the plastic pieces, the kit was built in one afternoon. The plastic cement was still something I didn't want her messing with, but it dried very quickly and with no need for careful alignment or gluing jigs.

When it came to finishing time, she loved putting on the stickers, and proceeded to festoon the rocket with still more stickers from her collection. It's covered with kitties, flowers and hearts now. Not my idea of "sleek," but she had a blast and that's all I care about with these projects.

Other similar kits include most of the Estes E2X kits (though I recommend the ones with larger body tubes for the very young kids). I'm looking for suggestions from Quest.

I've attached a pic of her Falcon (she calls it the Kitty Kat, of course). We had a great time. I hope someone finds this little aside useful and takes the opportunity to bring another very young child into the hobby.

Thanks,

Will

 

[graylensman]

Great kitty cat rocket! i don't know what else Quest makes in the beginner level kit, but I think the Estes Alpha III also sports a one-piece fin unit.

My son (12) picked out a Quest Apollo, which also has plastic fins and tail, but requires more assembly; probably not appropriate for a five-year-old. I had to let go of my own prejudices regarding such kits; he had a blast building the bird, and of course is very proud to fly it. And as you noted, thats what's most important.

 

[PGerringer]

Very nice rocket! I spent time with my son and daughter at that age building rockets. It was a hoot. Alas, they are bigger now and have other interests but I still remember launching rockets with them. I bought my son a PML Phobos for Christmas last year which is still sitting in the bag. Hmmm, I'm thinking this weekends project.

 

[Larry]

I think the way it is today with all the quick built ready to use stuff we have it is hard to get kids to sit down and actually build something. The rtf or almost rtf stuff is great to get someone started, but then its good to get them actually building something. My son is 12 and its hard to get him to build. When I was his age there were very few ready to fly rockets. My first one was a Cox Honest John(still have it). Everything else we built. There is a lot of satisfaction in watching something you built take to the air......Larry

 

[wscarvie]

No doubt about it, Larry. I, at least, really love watching something I put a lot of time into fly. We'll see whether Sarah feels the same, but she does like to sit with me and play with the scraps when I cut out fins. I'm working on an Orbital Transport just now, so she has a LOT of scraps to play with. She marks them with her pen where she wants them cut and tells me which ones are for her model sail boat, which are for her Shamu rocket, etc. All fictional projects so far, but I'm going to help her turn these bits into something soon, so she gets a taste of the building experience.

Thanks for the feedback, all,

Will

 

[WiK]

I love to build things. Airfix/Revell models, gliders, model railways and, of course, rockets.

I'm 13.

All my freinds love th flying part, but when they see the amount of constuction needed for some kits, they get bored.

Is something wrong with my brain???? Maybe I'm just special

 

[wscarvie]

Hi WiK,

I think, compared to most 13 year olds, your "special." Compared to all of us when WE were 13, however, you're normal as can be.

Will

 

[Micromeister]

Originally posted by WiK
I love to build things. Airfix/Revell models, gliders, model railways and, of course, rockets.

I'm 13.

I'm just special


Wik!
I'm With Will, at 13 your one of the few that would rather build something than play video games or stare at the tube. Nice to see there are still a few of you young folks out there still able to actually produce something from your mind to the finished product

Will: I am so happy to see more Dad's are involving thier daughters as well as the Son's in Model Rocketry. I had a heck of a fight with some of the mother' s in the Wifes Girl Scout troop, when we introduced the Juniors "the older girls" to Model rocketry as a Sceince/Hobby/Craft project. "MY girls don't play with sharp knifes and adhesives" etc. My own girls had as much of a blast as the Jr. did. Great Job!!! keep up the good work.

 

[wscarvie]

Originally posted by Micromister

Will: I am so happy to see more Dad's are involving thier daughters as well as the Son's in Model Rocketry. I had a heck of a fight with some of the mother' s in the Wifes Girl Scout troop, when we introduced the Juniors "the older girls" to Model rocketry as a Sceince/Hobby/Craft project. "MY girls don't play with sharp knifes and adhesives" etc. My own girls had as much of a blast as the Jr. did. Great Job!!! keep up the good work.

Thanks Micro.

Not only do I think girls can play with knives and glue as well as boys, but, if I want to build rockets with my kids, I have little choice. I have two daughters and no sons, you see

Thanks again,

Will

 

[Rocketmaniac]

Originally posted by wscarvie
Not only do I think girls can play with knives and glue as well as boys, but, if I want to build rockets with my kids, I have little choice. I have two daughters and no sons, you see

Well, I think there is nothing at all wrong with girls playing with rockets. My little "rocket girl" likes both playing with make-up and launching rockets. She pushes the button when I launch little rockets in the backyard. She will be 4 in Oct. She has been with me several times when I go to our monthly launches, she saw me get my L2 this last weekend.

 

[cls]

in June my son turned 6 and he wanted a Rocketry birthday. so we bought a big pile of those Quest quick-kits with plastic fins and had everyone over to build one. then we went flying at the local club, BAYNAR.

while my son can do balsa fins & double-gluing etc. by himself, I think he is ahead of the pack for age 6. after building a dozen or so my 8 year old daughter can do most of a balsa kit but she struggles with the fin alignment. I think she's more typical for her age.

of the ~10 kids at his birthday party, two 6 year old boys were completely helpless and needed nearly all of their rockets built for them. two others, a boy and a girl, could assemble the parts but needed a little help organizing what goes where. the rest of the kids were somewhere in the middle - could do some stuff, needed help with other stuff.

nearly everyone needed help with tying the shrouds on the parachutes.

how's that for a "normal curve"?!?


in short - we love those Quest quick kits!! and all his friends do now, too.


so for starting young kids out with rocketry, have them build a bunch of quick kits first. fly a bunch, lose a few, crash a few, cuddle a few. get that launch-excitement positive feedback look going!


there is plenty of time later to do the "hard-code" level 1 balsa & paint action.

 

[KermieD]

I've said it before, and I'll go with it again: The Estes Mega Maxx starter set is perfect for kids.

Rocket #1, the Goliath, is pretty much an exact downscale of a Blue Ninja. Very easy build with a plastic fincan (1 piece instead of the Blue Ninja's 2 piece) and the only finishing involved is some peel & stick stickers.

Rocket #2 is the Spitfire. It is a sleek fighter-jet looking rocket with a neat nosecone that has canards and a cockpit on it. It has balsa fins (the two "wing fins" are 2-part fins that need to be glued flat before attaching to the body). It's a far more challenging build and flies straight and true even on A's. Better have a big field for C's though.

Also, a fantastic model for the very beginner is the Mach 12. Same plastic fin can, but has 3 sets of interchangable fins that slide in and out. Kids love playing with different fin combinations. It's 5 rockets in one for a little one and it's nigh indestructible!

 

[lalligood]

Another good couple of kits for children to build are the Art Applewhite 4"/13mm & 6"/18mm delta saucers.

There is plenty of surface area for them to decorate, they don't require paint, & they don't take long to build (~1 hour) with scissors, an X-Acto knife (adults only should do this step), sandpaper (optional if you happen to cut well with the knife), & white glue. An added plus is that you can safely fly them in your backyard because they don't go very high & recovery close because of their draggy design.

Oh yeah...I almost forgot--they're cheap too! You can get a pair of the 4 inchers for $5 & the 6" model is $5 for one.

Check out the GLOWING reviews over at EMRR for more information...