Compressed Air Rocket Launchers

5 or more compressed air rockets launchers on a table
We’ve made a few compressed air rocket launchers through the years

When it comes to making your own launcher, it’s hard for me to do much better than the Instructable I put together a few years back.

If on the other hand you are looking to make rockets, fast and furious, check on my video on YouTube is the place to be. There is also another video where I make a high pressure rocket in about 2 minutes.

Compressed Air Rockets and Launchers at MakerSpace Charlotte
  • 25 glow sticks loaded haphazardly in a 2 in tube
  • 5 or more compressed air rockets launchers on a table
    We’ve made a few compressed air rocket launchers through the years
  • Boy stands next to science fair display - made of PVC pipe
    Brian’s Science Fair display – not your typical tri-fold
  • Roadie case with PVC, wires, lights, and a small screen with a raspberry drawing displayed. The tubes go out the top with paper rockets on top
    Raspberry sky

Rugby

  • Rugby weather
  • Touch Rugby at Georgia Teach
    Touch Rugby at Georgia Teach
  • Elementary school kids wearing rugby tournament medals
    After a great day of rugby, all the kids got medals
  • Kids playing rugby in the park
    East Cobb Rugby has a clinic
  • Kids rugby team converges on single oppoent
    Isabel moves in for the tackle with her team in support
  • Rugby tackle
    Brian makes a tackle a the the Life University summer rugby camp.
  • High School Rugby camp Friends at Life University
  • Rugby in the rain
    Is it really rugby if it’s not raining?
  • Coed middle school rugby team
    Brian on the girls team?! Coed teenage tackle? As a parent aren’t I supposed to prevent such things?
  • Rugby in the park
    Nothing like a little rugby at East Cobb Park
  • One elementary school rugby player against and entire team.
    Joshua is on his own and up against fierce opposition
Brian makes three great tackles in a row while injured.

Brian (gray sleeves, red socks) is injured at the start of this play (on the ground protecting his head). He’s trying to get get subbed off the field… but the play comes his way. So he does the only thing he can think to do – he makes the tackle. And then he does it again and again. The play finally moves away from him and he can limp away… but he keeps checking to make sure his team doesn’t need him. Fortunately his injuries were temporary and he was able to rejoin the game after a short break.

Rugby Tackle
Brian in hot pursuit from a lineout on the far side of the pitch.

Life U Rugby Camp

Rugby tackle
Brian makes a tackle a the the Life University summer rugby camp.

Playing rugby at the Life University rugby camp. It’s unthinkable that so few kids know about the Life camp. The best college players in the country (many from outside the US) run a week long overnight clinic for high school kids. There is just not a better place to have a clinic.

    Las Vegas Sevens

    Kids playing rugby - white player running with ball with green player in pursuit
    Brian running for a try at the Vegas Sevens

    Every year the Rugby world lays siege to every hotel and parking space in Las Vegas. Rugby Sevens is the fast past version – 7 minute half, 7 a side, of the regular version. The national teams from around the world play in the evening and the middle school through college kids play during the day.

    Firebot

    small robot shooting fire

    At RobotsConf in Florida Ben was struggling to find a way to make his bot competitive. All the bots started as identical laser cut kits. Whatever to do? Hairspray! Well hairspray and a pilot light that is. The firebot was born. But it didn’t look the part… but that’s a story for another post.

    Prosthetic LIghts

    multi colored lights in a dark room as if plotted on a graph...but as a long exposure photo

    While working with a prosthetist (someone that designs, creates and fits artificial limbs) to record and analyze the behavior and performance of of amputees wearing prosthetics, we discovered that we could do more than just capture the information with gyroscopes and accelerometers… we could display it in real time. But that was too much for the human eye to handle. Using a programmable LED strip we were able to strobe different colors representing different axes and motions. And by taking a long exposure photograph in an otherwise dark room we were able to capture rather striking images of the exact data we were seeking to plot. It was real life data visualization.

    Dry Ice Jenga

    Group watch a man play jenga with tongs and dry ice over an empty aquarium

    Jenga is a pretty simple game… that gets a wee bit trickier when you can’t use your hands. In particular playing with tongs to handle the dry ice means that if you squeeze too hard the dry ice will squeal as it sublimates under the tongs and the tongs move as you squeeze and the gas escapes. It just seems to make people more nervous, but it looks cool – especially if you add blinking LEDs. Using a mitre saw with a simple jig is a good way to turn out uniform pieces in short order.

    Flip Flop

    The basic flip-flop circuit or astable multivibrator (try telling a bunch of middle school kids that’s the name of this thing). This version was built after the Feltronics Flip Flop, but make so all the components could be used with feltronics. The negative voltage across electrolytic capacitors and the initial race condition meant that this was never the best first contact teaching tool, but that only inspired us to come up with something better. (ssh – this picture isn’t really a flip-flop, can you figure out what it really is?)

    Who needs a fiberglass substrate? Paper circuits for the win!

    Ben

    Of course we have made the flip flop circuit many different ways

    Head Manufacture of Felt Integrated Circuits

    Giant Jenga

    Large Jenga set made from 2x4s

    Bored kids at home demanded something to do. 20 minutes in the shop yielded a few hours of fun. Shoes required, and your head must remain out of the fall line. Super easy to make, but one component is not to be missed, the stacking jig to help set things up. We took Giant Jenga everywhere, including MakerFaire Atlanta at Georgia Tech among many other places. This also started a trend for us of making giant versions of simple games and toys.

    1 2 3 4