Are you looking for some topics to present that can add excitement to your science classroom? Rocketry and space exploration, like no other subject, have a way to captivate students that makes it easy for them to learn science. They are having so much fun, that they don't even realize they are learning basic science concepts.

To leverage the benefits of this area of study, you can use your school's computer to explore a lot of different science topics. In the January 2005 issue of the education magazine, "Tech Directions" (http://www.techdirections.com), there is an article by Spencer C. Wilson of J.R. Fugett Middle School in West Chester. In it, he describes how he uses a rocket design software, called RockSim (http://www.rocksim.com) to show students the process of engineering design.

In this article, I'd like to give you some other ideas on how to use the model rocket design software to demonstrate other basic science concepts. Here are some benefits to using RockSim software:

1. Allows the student to simulate hundreds of rocket flights very quickly -- this saves lots of money! Just think of the time saved too. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollar buying motors and hours-and-hours of time building different configurations, launching, recovering, and repacking rockets to test one control feature.

2. Safety. When you go out to fly rockets, knowing how they'll behave is an important aspect of safety. Precautions can be made. By running the simulations, the students learn what concepts contribute to keeping the actual launch safe.

3. The scientific value is awesome. Each launch simulation generates a mountain of useful data. Analyzing this data is a fantastic way to teach the scientific method.

4. Students love software because it is fun! It has features like a video game, so the students may not realize how much they are learning at the same time.

5. The RockSim software is the same tool that is used by real rocketry professionals - like NASA, military contractors, and universities. So you can feel confident in the results you get back from the program.

6. The software allows students to explore their creativity. They can design vastly different looking models, while learning engineering skills, assembly steps, and physics.

Here are just some of the many topics you can explore with RockSim:

1. Aerodynamics and drag reduction.

2. Forces of flight: Lift, Drag, Thrust, and Gravity.

3. Projectile motion.

4. Rocket propulsion as used for space travel.

5. Atmospheric studies: how does temperature and pressure affect performance?

6. Planetary differences: how does the same rocket perform on different planets in our solar system.

7. Dynamics and harmonic motion with damping.

8. Engineering - how parts fit together.

9. Newton's Laws of motion.

10. Artistic expression