ISU Physics' Water Rocket Festival Scheduled for June 27 and 28

Pocatello’s Tydeman Park is set to be a launch pad.

Saturday and Sunday, June 27 and 28, 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 build a water rocket. From there, ISU students will explain the physics of a good rocket and help young water-rocket scientists design and launch their projectiles. The builder whose rocket travels the farthest will win their own water-rocket launcher. 

“The Water Rocket Festival is STEM fun for the whole family, and a great way for kids to actively learn about Newton's laws, mechanical energy, aerodynamics, and more,” said Steve Shropshire, professor of physics at ISU.

Previous editions of the Water Rocket Festival have seen winning rockets traveling more than 100 meters (328 feet).

The Water Rocket Festival is being held in conjunction with the Kiwanis Club of Pocatello’s 58th Annual Bing Hong Pancake Breakfast fundraiser. The first Water Rocket Festival was held in 2011. 

For more information, contact Steve Shropshire at steveshropshire@isu.edu or (208) 282-2212. For more information on the ISU Department of Physics, visit isu.edu/physics.