Special water rocket fun day to be held in Milton Keynes this weekend

Andy Gray, who runs a space education website, is inviting space fans of all ages to his free Space Family Fun Day at Bletchley Rugby Club.

They can bring their own home-made water rockets, which are simple to make from empty plastic bottles, and launch them.

Andy, who lives in MK, has provided a series of videos on his TikTok page to show people how to make the rockets.. And you can watch his demonstration of how they work here.

"Come along to the Rugby Club any time between10am and 4pm. Bring your own rockets and let’s launch them high,” he said.

People are welcome to bring a picnic and enjoy watching the launches.

Space companies will be there and there will be space-themed talks, face painting, a raffle and other activities.

A water rocket uses water as its reaction mass and it is forced out by compressed air, operating on the principle of Newton's third law of motion. Two bottles are used, one as the rocket and the other as the pressure vessel.

They are capable of flying up to 30 or 40 metres but distances beyond 100 m are possible with some careful design.

.Andy’s website is called Space4alleducation.com and covers all things to do with space, planets and rockets.

A qualified teacher and ambassador of STEM, Andy has an eye condition that means he cannot use a compute for long periods or mark homework.

Setting up the space educational website was the “next best thing” to teaching, he said.

“I can teach to my strengths and inspire learners, and still have fun too.

“My programme is aimed at anyone aged from three to 105 and, depending on your level, you can choose the best information or membership so everyone can love space.

"I am also doing a Kickstarter to give learners tools for schools. I get funding to learn animation and bring characters to life so everyone wins.”

Details of Saturday’s event are on Facebook here.