Pupils at St. Mary's Catholic School were chuffed today when they had the opportunity to launch their own homemade rockets into the atmosphere.

The ‘rockets' were plastic bottles, of course, and they only made it about 10 metres into the air – but it was a lesson in aerodynamics nonetheless.

The rocket launches were the culmination of a workshop taught by Dr Karen Willcox, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The ex-pat Kiwi is back in the country as part of the Sir Peter Blake Trust's ‘Dream Team', which involves hundreds of other inspiring New Zealanders going into schools to share their stories and inspire students.

'The workshop was all about exploring engineering design problems with the pupils,” says Karen. 'They had to make decisions about their own rocket designs, and realise there's always a trade-off with each decision.”

The rockets were made out of plastic fizzy drink bottles, half-filled with water and launched by filling them with gas. Once the correct amount of pressure was achieved, pupils were able to release the pressure, launching the rockets into the air.

Additions such as fins and noses had various degrees of impact on the rockets' aerodynamic qualities.

The pupils who took part were all girls, as a means of encouraging them to see subjects such as science and maths in a different light.

'It's about empowering the girls so they can take these subjects further as they get older,” says Karen.

Dr Karen Willcox helps Molly Flynn, 10, Lily Cooper, 10, Maddie Kerr, 10, set their rocket up.

About Dream Team

Led by New Zealand's Governor-General, The Rt. Hon. Dame Patsy Reddy, Dream Team leaders are speaking in classrooms around the country to inspire young Kiwis to #believeyoucan – the theme of this year's Sir Peter Blake Trust Leadership Week.

More than 12,500 school students have also registered to view a digital Dream Team session with award-winning hip-hop choreographer and dancer, Parris Goebel, which was released to schools on the morning of Monday July 3 to kick off leadership week.

Schools all over New Zealand also have access to other digital Dream Team sessions, featuring Blues player and All Black Legend, Jerome Kaino, Gold Medallist, Sophie Pascoe, Huffer co-founder, Steve Dunstan, The Edge Radio Host, Sharyn Casey and Riley Elliott – aka The Sharkman.

Sir Peter Blake Trust Leadership Week runs in the final week of Term Two, starting on Monday July 3 and concluding on Red Socks Day on Friday July 7.

Molly Flynn, 10, Lily Cooper, 10, Maddie Kerr, 10, with Dr Karen Wilcox.

The Sky is the limit team members Lucia Allen, 10, Madi Smith, 10, and Jorja Smart, 11.

Zoe Haydock, 10, Gabbie Way, 10, Athens Herrera, 10, and Anna Hartman, 10, with their rocket.