Back in the day, we didn't do paper rockets, we did bottle rockets made out of 2-liter soda bottles. Anti-soda parents would literally dump out the soda just to get the plastic. But the joy on the kids faces at launch was worth wasting a bit of orange Fanta.

The first step was "the build," the late Mike Dougherty would show up every year with these teal blue tubs that were apparently of use somehow in nursing. He'd show kids how to cut them up to make the fins and nose cones. Then they'd tape them on with a slew of duct tape. Decorate a bit and head off to the launchpad.

They'd fill the bottles part way with water, quickly turn them upside down onto the launcher. John Donovan or Chris Shelton would be there pumping an air pump all day and the kids would pull a rip cord. Blast off! A flying missile with pretty darn sharp triangular fins shot up a mile high with a stream of water pouring out behind it. Then the kids would run around trying to get underneath and catch them, sharp fins and all.