Who says science isn't fun? Build this 5-minute rocket and you'll have hours of fun. Plus you might learn a thing or two about propulsion systems and rocket design along the way.

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(Original story from: The 5 Minute Rocket)

To get started, you'll need the following items:

* scissors
* tape
* glue
* rocket fuel (Vinegar and Baking Soda (???????????)
* water
* rocket motor (an empty PET 1 liter PET bottle or 35mm Fuji Film canister)
* rocket plans (make your own crazy designs and see which work best)

STEPS

1. Design your rocket. A simple cylinder, nose cone, and a pair of fins will suffice. Use bond paper or Bristol board to draw your plan. Your final rocket should stand about six inches tall and be approximately 1 3/8 inches in diameter.

2. Cut out your rocket components (e.g., cylinder, nose cone, and fins), tape/glue them together, and test-fit your assembly over the film canister cap.

3. Open the film canister or PET bottle and pour 2 spoons of baking soda into it..

4. Now do this step extremely quickly. Fill the canister half full of vinegar, snap the canister cap into place, slide the rocket over the cap, and GET BACK!

5. Pop, fizz, whoosh! Houston, we have lift-off.

Referrences

• This story is a modified version of the original posted on the Popular Science website. That version used Alka-Seltzer tablets for the fuel, but this is not available easily in Japan. So, I've modified the plans to use vinegar and baking soda. --- The 5 Minute Rocket
• 101 Outer Space Projects for the Evil Genius, by Dave Prochnow (McGraw-Hill, 2007).