Walchandnager: Day 4

The energy of the last three days left us eager to share our final activity -- water bottle rockets -- with the students.  The presentation consisted of the following topics: Newton's three laws, drag force, thrust force, rocket stability, based on the rocket cone and fin shapes, and a simple range equation.  To help excite the students a balloon rocket demonstration was shown and a short video of an Indian rocket launch.  The demonstration was something previously done by a BCA student as a science fair project.

SWE members presenting about rockets.

Before the students could begin building they had to complete a worksheet that consisted of fill in the blank, labeling the forces on a rocket, and using the range equation.  The goal of the activity was to produce a rocket with the longest range, when launched with a consistent amount of water and at an angle of 45 degrees. The students were given a variety of materials, including two 500ml plastic water bottles, a piece of cardboard, a piece of paper, a small cup, and tape as needed.  They were allowed to use rocks or dirt to add weight to the nose of their rockets.

The creativity was outstanding with a range of nose cone and fin designs.  In addition one team connected their design back to Walchandager Industries by naming their rocket the same name as one Walchandager had contributed to.  Students also decorated their rockets to showcase their team pride.  The students were obviously excited about this project because they continued to work through a short break given to them before testing.

Launching was luckily conducted in the shade, as the students and us would not have lasted in the late morning sun. It was great to catch the expressions of the children as we launched a similarly sized rocket we brought with us to test our simple launcher before testing their designs.  The longest range the students achieved was 18.5 m.  It was equally impressive that the rockets consistently flew in a straight path.

SWE members launching rockets.

Following the activity we took a short break, which allowed the students to collect our names and sometimes email addresses, and to prepare for an end of camp celebration.  The celebration was held in the library, and started with the students sharing their feedback of the camp.  The feedback included how they were taught teamwork principles, applications of what they had been learning, how they were initially scared it would be difficult to communicate, but instead found that there was a dual comfort between the students and us, and how the camp was a once in a lifetime opportunity and they were grateful they were able to experience it.  Following the feedback sessions the students sang a few traditional songs, which showcased their singing and instrumental abilities.  In return we sang a rendition of Hail to the Victors.  Their gratitude was expressed be giving each of us a rose, and the group a pop up box with a bridge connecting the Indian flag to the American flag.  Likewise we gave each student either a Michigan sticker or pen, and the principal and teachers who have graciously helped us throughout the week various Michigan swag.  Additionally we prepared some wrap up slides, that summarized what the learning points of the activities and pictures of them during the activities  and they seemed to light up when they saw pictures of themselves.  The camp was officially concluded with group photos to help preserve the memory of the experience.

Being a chocolate lover, I must also mention the fabulous dessert we had at lunch that consisted of a thin Chrunch bar like outer shell with chocolate ice cream around a solid chocolate bar in the center.  It was certainly a nice summer treat to mark the last day of camp.

After a couple hours of rest, we took a tour of the town of Walchandnager.  For those of us who had visited in March, we revisited the garden where we had previously planted trees, and a couple of us took a turn going down the slide before all of us watered the trees.  We then visited the visitor garden, where a mango, coconut, or banyon tree had been planted in honor of high ranking visitors.  This was followed by visiting the Hindu temple, snack bar where widows are trained and which we discovered where the rolls we ate were baked, before driving through the colorful market just outside the Walchandnager gate. The tour ended with a visit to the badmitton/squash courts.