Try piecing together your own rocket design using triangles, squares and rectangles! Then, see what other designs you can build with these geometric shapes.
Materials
- Plain paper OR a copy of the tangram rocket with interior lines drawn – Download PDF
- Plain paper OR a copy of the tangram rocket without interior lines drawn – Download PDF
- Crayons, colored pencils OR markers
- Scissors
Project Steps
Step 1: Look at the shape of rockets
Step 1: Look at the shape of rockets
NASA uses rockets to take astronauts, satellites, rovers and landers to space. Rockets usually have a pointed "nose cone" at the top, a long slim body and fins at the bottom.
About the image: A rocket flies into the sky above Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama, as part of the 2019 Student Launch Initiative. Image credit: NASA | › Full image and caption
Step 2: Print or draw your rocket and shapes
Step 2: Print or draw your rocket and shapes
Print out both rocket templates – the one with interior lines and the one without them. You can also draw or trace (by holding the paper up to a computer screen) the rocket templates and shapes on plain pieces of paper.
Step 3: Color the shapes
Step 3: Color the shapes
Color the shapes at the bottom of one of the rocket templates using different colors for the different shapes. If two shapes appear to be exactly the same, use the same color on those.
Step 4: Cut out the shapes
Step 4: Cut out the shapes
Have an adult help you cut out the colored shapes.
Step 5: Build your rocket
Step 5: Build your rocket
Use the shapes to build your rocket design! Start by filling in the rocket that has interior lines. All the shapes must fit entirely inside the rocket’s outline. Once your rocket is complete, show your family members.
Step 6: Challenge yourself
Step 6: Challenge yourself
For a bigger challenge, see if you can use the shapes to fill in the rocket without interior lines, or build your own rocket without using a rocket outline at all!
Step 7: Get creative
Step 7: Get creative
Can you build more designs using these shapes? Look at these pictures of spacecraft, rovers and landers, and try to recreate them with shapes. What else can you build?
About the image: This artist's concept shows the InSight lander on Mars. InSight arrived on the Red Planet in November 2018, when it began its mission to study the deep interior of Mars. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | › Full image and caption
Lesson Last Updated: Sept. 25, 2024