ISU Physics Department’s free Water Rocket Festival returns June 24, June 25

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – A high-flying summertime staple is returning to Pocatello’s Tydeman Park later this month.

Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25, from 10 a.m. to noon, Idaho State University’s Department of Physics will host their Water Rocket Festival at Tydeman Park, N. 8th Avenue and E. Young Street. Each day, the first 100 youths ages 16-years-old and younger will receive the materials needed to construct a water rocket. From there, ISU students will explain the physics of making a good rocket and help the newly-minted water rocket scientists build and launch their handmade projectiles. The builder whose rocket travels the furthest will win their own water rocket launcher.

“I’d like to encourage kids to stop by and get a hands-on lesson in rocket science,” physics professor Steve Shropshire said. “The Water Rocket Festival is educational for the whole family, and participants learn about Newton's laws, mechanical energy, aerodynamics, and more in an interactive way.”

The Water Rocket Festival is being held in conjunction with the Kiwanis Club of Pocatello’s 55th Annual Bing Hong Pancake Breakfast fundraiser. Earlier this year, the Kiwanis Club of Pocatello presented the physics department with $2,500 to help support STEM education efforts for local youth.

The first Water Rocket Festival was held in 2011.

For more information, contact Steve Shropshire at steveshropshire@isu.edu or (208) 282-2212.