Carterton Rocket Academy
Sunday 4 October
Carrington Park, Carterton
Free event
Carterton Space Week begins with a splash, a countdown, and possibly a few damp shoes.
Back for the fourth year in a row, our much-loved Water Rocket Challenge returns to Carrington Park as part of Carterton Rocket Academy. Families, children, students, and brave bottle engineers are invited to build, decorate, test, and launch their own water-powered rockets in a hands-on morning of science in action.
This is where Rocket Revolution begins: with fizzy-drink bottles, water, air pressure, teamwork, and the ancient scientific method of countdown: “three, two, one, launch!”
We’re also thrilled to welcome back Phoenix Astro (The Phoenix Astronomical Society) with their solar telescopes, so you can safely look at the Sun and explore sunspots, solar activity, and our nearest star if it is showing itself in the sky.
Bring your bottle: If you’d like to personalise your own rocket, bring a clean, empty 1.5L fizzy-drink bottle. We’ll have spares available, but bringing your own means you can design it, name it, prepare it for glory and, most importantly, KEEP IT!
This event is free and suitable for all ages. If the weather behaves, we launch. If the weather does what it did last year and arrives wearing a raincoat, we’ll redirect the rocket energy indoors: join Simon from It’s Not Rocket Science for real model rocket-making sessions later that afternoon and throughout the week.
Suitable for: Families, children of all ages, science fans, astronomy enthusiasts, curious locals, visitors, and anyone who enjoys a good countdown.
Bring: A clean 1.5L fizzy-drink bottle if you have one, outdoor shoes, weather-appropriate clothing, and your best rocket name.
