QuickTips Index

How Do Rockets Fly?
How Do Rockets Fly? - A Backyard Science Experiment. Watch Newton's third law of Motion in Action. Equipment Needed: Drinking Straw, String, Long Balloon, Transparent Tape, and a Clothespin. As you watch your balloon rocket fly along the string, you are observing Newton's Third Law of Motion; For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Mars Day!
Celebrate Mars Day! with the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. This is an annual event that promotes the Red Planet with educational and fun family activities. Talk to Mars research scientists, and discover current and future missions.

Parallax View
Parallax View - A Backyard Science Experiment. Learn How Scientists Measure the Distance to Stars. Equipment Needed - Ruler, pencil, or even a finger. Astronomers use this to determine the distances to stars. They note a star's apparent position when the Earth is on one side of the sun, then measure the distance to its apparent position six months later, when the earth is on the other side of the sun. The more distance between the two points, the closer the star is to Earth.

Collecting Meteorites
Collecting Meteorites - Collect Rocks of Extra-terrestrial Origin. Equipment Needed: Large piece of white paper or plastic, Magnet, Magnifying glass or a microscope. Every day, literally tons of fine particles drop to Earth. A lot of this material originated at the same time our solar system formed, about 4 1/2 billion years ago. A meteorite is simply a rock of extra-terrestrial origin found on Earth. So, a micrometeorite is a very very small rock of extra-terrestrial origin found on Earth.

Making Craters
Making Craters - A Backyard Science Experiment. Learn More About How Craters Are Made. Equipment Needed: Mixing Bowl, Baking Pan, Flour, Water, and Several round objects of different sizes. Which objects make the biggest craters? Did the height you dropped from make any difference?