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If your child likes the excitement of a rocket blasting off, they will LOVE this STEM experiment!
The Blast Off Chemical Reaction Rocket experiment uses the power of a chemical reaction to build pressure inside of a bottle to shoot into the sky. It’s an experiment showcasing how chemical reactions work and an opportunity to show how rockets launch into space.
So head outdoors and let’s launch a rocket!

How to make the Blast Off Chemical Reaction Rocket STEM experiment
Supplies you will need
For this experiment, you’ll need:
- 2 liter bottle (empty)
- Vinegar
- Baking soda
- Cork
(this pack of assorted sizes will ensure you have the right size)
- Popsicle sticks
- Hot glue gun
or a rubber band

Before you start
The rocket is fast, so be sure to step away from it when the reaction begins. This is also very messy and can shoot up high, so please do this outdoors.
Instructions
Here is how to do this experiment with your child:
Step 1: Attach the popsicle sticks to the bottle

Hot glue 3-4 popsicle sticks equidistant from one another around the top of the 2-liter bottle. They should extend at least a few inches past the bottle opening so the bottle is off the ground.
If necessary, you can glue two popsicle sticks together to make them longer.
Ensure that the bottle is level and stays upright with the popsicle sticks before moving on to the next step.


Step 2: Add baking soda to the bottle
We added enough baking soda to cover the bottom of the 2-liter bottle, plus about a half inch more.
Step 3: Add vinegar to the bottle and quickly seal
Add about a cup of vinegar to the bottom and quickly place the cork in. Turn the bottle upside down so it is standing on the popsicle sticks.
Run!

The STEM behind the Blast Off Chemical Reaction Rocket experiment
This experiment teaches:
- Chemical reactions
- Propulsion
- Designing a rocket
How it works
Baking soda and vinegar, when combined together, produce water, sodium acetate (a salt), and carbon dioxide gas. The more baking soda and vinegar we use, the more it produces in the process.
In the Chemical Reaction Rocket experiment, we create this reaction in a closed container (the soda bottle). As the amount of carbon dioxide builds up, so does the pressure inside of the bottle, until the bottle can no longer hold the pressure.
The cork (or whatever is used to contain the reaction) pops out and the rocket blasts off!
Chemical reactions
This experiment demonstrates one of the classics: the vinegar and baking soda chemical reaction!
The sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and weak acetic acid in vinegar react and trap the carbon dioxide to form bubbles.
This reaction forms a significant amount of carbon dioxide gas and builds pressure inside of the soda bottle until it cannot be contained any longer.
Propulsion
The rushing air creates a force called thrust, which propels the rocket forward. This creates a concentrated stream of air molecules moving rapidly in one direction.
This is how thrust works with a rocket taking off into space as well!
Instead of a soda bottle, rockets use a combustion chamber to create the thrust needed to launch into space. The combustion chamber houses liquid fuel (fuel and an oxidizer), pumps, a nozzle, and plumbing.
During launch, the fuel and oxidizer are mixed. This mixture produces hot exhaust that is passed through the nozzle to accelerate the flow and produce thrust.
The gasses expanding inside the combustion chamber and nozzle are pushing outward in all directions. Since the nozzle is open on one end, those gasses can only push against the engine in one direction.
Using Newton’s third law of motion, as the gasses push down through the nozzle, the rocket shoots up!
Designing a rocket
This experiment gives kids the opportunity to design a simple rocket, complete with a body and combustion chamber (the soda bottle), rocket fuel (vinegar and baking soda), and a launch tower (the sticks).
They can also add decorations to the rocket, like painting the bottle or adding plastic fins (they’ll get wet!).
More experiments about chemical reactions to try out with your child
- Fizz, Pop, Inflate: The magical balloon experiment with a chemical reaction
- Rev Up with Engineering Fun: Build a Chemical Reaction Car!
- The Epoxy Resin Reaction: Make a hand keepsake while talking about chemical reactions
- Homemade Lava Lamps: Chemistry in action!
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