Put an ounce of water into a film canister. The white translucent film canisters with the tight lids work better than the black ones with the gray lids that are a bit looser. Put one-half of an Alka Seltzer antacid tablet in the film canister, and put the lid on the canister. Place the canister with the lid down on an outdoor sidewalk or table and stand back. The rocket will launch into the air. Hypothesize how high you think it will go, what will happen if you add more water or hotter water, and what will happen with a full antacid tablet. Attempt to estimate how high the rocket flew into the air, and if possible, have someone photograph the launch.
This rocket can be created with an empty two liter bottle of soda, a balloon, a straw, and some simple wheels made from discarded CDs or wheels from a toy car. An axle for the wheels can be created from strong drinking straws or pencils. Stretch a large latex balloon by repeatedly inflating it and letting the air out. Puncture the sides of the empty soda bottles to thread the axles through, and then put the wheels on the axles. At the mouth of the bottle, put a straw, with the balloon taped firmly to its end. Blow up the balloon through the straw, and pinch the end until you have put the straw into the mouth of the bottle. Stand back and let the release of air propel the rocket across the table or floor. Experiment with the size of the wheels to get the balloon rocket to travel as far as you can.
This rocket can be created by stringing heavy duty string from one location to the other, such as from the top of the refrigerator to a curtain rod across the room. Before anchoring the string, thread it through a large drinking straw. Pull the string as taut as possible so that it does not have a large dip, but hangs as straight as you can get it. Use duct tape to attach a large balloon to the straw. Blow up the balloon, and then release it, allowing your rocket to travel across the room on the string. Consider variables that will make the balloon travel farther, such as the size of the balloon, the amount of air, and the thrust applied when releasing the balloon.
Take a one-liter soda bottle and fill it halfway with vinegar. Take 2 tbsp of baking soda and wrap it in a small piece of paper towel. Drop the paper towel into the bottle of vinegar, screw on the bottle cap, quickly shake the bottle several times, loosen the cap, and set the bottle upside down on the sidewalk or driveway. Quickly back away and observe and photograph the rocket as it launches. You can paint or decorate the bottle beforehand to make it look more like a real rocket.