How One Teacher Is Using Alka-Seltzer Rockets To Launch Dreams

At a work station in Texas, teams race to complete their rockets. They debate different factors that will impact its flight: height, weight distribution, drag. And, of course, style.

“We wanted it to look pretty so we added decoration,” says Kylie. “[And] tape for stability, and we’re adding cute little buttons.”

These aren’t scientists building the next generation of Artemis rockets–at least not yet. This is the STEM Club at Bernice Hart Elementary, and while today’s project is to create a small Alka-Seltzer powered rocket, the real goal is getting these students up close and personal with the world of science.

“Our intention is to introduce our students to a different world that they usually don't see,” says Monica Sanchez. She’s a bilingual special education teacher at Hart Elementary, and one of the founders of the STEM Club.

Sanchez and fellow teacher Olivia Barrow started the club five years ago. A lover of math and science herself, Sanchez was attending a metallurgy workshop at the University of Texas six years ago. Staff there mentioned they provide workshops for middle and high school classrooms. Sanchez pushed them to test a pilot program with some of her younger students. For her, elementary school was the perfect time to let kids get hands-on STEM experience.

“Many times they ask you questions, like, ‘what is an engineer,’ or ‘how is a bridge made,’ or ‘how come the rockets can travel so far,’” she says. "It's like, oh, wait a second, I have the answers for that!”

The Hart Elementary STEM Club meets once a month. Students with different programs at the University of Texas at Austin will often lead the class through different hands-on activities. Afterwards the STEM Club heads to Hot Science–Cool Talks at the UT campus where the students get to enjoy more scientific demonstrations from other STEM departments and interact with presenting scientists.

“They're ready to go and ask questions to those scientists,” says Sanchez. “To me, that's why we're doing this thing.”

Sarah Nixon is a volunteer from The Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials: an NSF MRSEC at the UT campus. The group works to create materials with new atomic-scale structures, but today Nixon is helping students troubleshoot how tin foil will affect drag.

“I love doing little demos, and I like to work with kids,” Nixon says. “If we can provide very strong education early on that’s accessible to everyone, that can only benefit all of us. Because I strongly believe education opens doors for people.”

Making STEM fields accessible to students at Hart Elementary is the driving force behind Sanchez’s work.

“If we look at Rundberg from outside, what do we see?” she asks. “We see parents working really hard. But again, parents who, most of them, did not finish high school or middle school. The most pressing issue with them is money to support their kids, to put a roof over their head, you know, food on the table.”

Nearly 95% of Hart Elementary students are economically disadvantaged, per data from the Texas Education Agency. The average monthly income for the area is $65,000 per year, roughly 45% less compared to the rest of Austin. Sanchez says many families are working to get by, and don’t always have time or resources for activities that would expand someone’s scientific curiosity. Her goal with the STEM Club is to give them opportunities to explore that world and see if it interests them.

“Ultimately why we educate our kids to break those poverty cycles,” Sanchez says.

STEM fields are often touted as jobs that pay off in the end. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that in 2024, the average salary for STEM workers was just over $100,000 per year. And those wages have almost doubled since 1980, outstripping nationwide economic growth. But research also points out that wealth can be a factor in who enters these fields. Studies have shown that after-school programs and summer camps can improve academic outcomes but costs and travel can be barriers for lower-income families.

The Hart STEM Club is a free program. Sanchez routinely applies for grants to keep the program afloat. Her hope is that each month students can explore a little more of the world of science.

“So by exposing them to that, you can plant us that little seed and say, well, what do you think?"