Professor Burbage was not at all surprised to see this young man's hand shoot straight up into the air after the picture had appeared.He had clearly shown from the beginning that he had a keen interested in rockets. Ooooooooh he reminder her very much of one of her grandchildren. Chuckling like a cornish pixie for a moment, she nodded her head at Mr. Wilde Odessa.

"Veeeeeeeeeery good."

This was said complete with a shower of gold glitter, of course.
"It is indeed, dear," she beamed at the Ravenclaw.

"Yes yes yeeeeeeeeeees," she sang, almost resembling an opera singer on the final yes.

Hmmmmmmmm....interesting. "Life on Uranus? Why, that poor poor man. No wonder I have never heard of him until now. Why, life on Uranus would siiiiiiiiimply be impossible. Well, not impossible...but highly unlikely. The planet iiiiiiiis one that has no solid surface and the pressures inside Uranus would siiiiiiimply crush life," she mused for a moment as she tapped her lower lip. "No matter, I simply muuuuuuust go to the library to find articles about this man. 2 points to you for teaching your professor something neeeeeeeew!"

Yes yes, Mr. Odessa Wilde - future studmuffin in the making.
Marion nodded to the young Ravenclaw as she continued her drinking efforts. Looked as though she was almost done. Excellent!

"Very good, although we will not be discussing missiles and space travel in class today," she said with a small wink. As for the second half of that. Oh ho ho ho.
Eyes drifting over to the Slytherin girl, Marion gave her an encouraging smile. The look on this girl's face was one that she had expected more of the students to have actually. She was surprised students knew so much! They were going to put her out of a job and she had only just started!
Or perhaps she could keep her job? Ho ho.

The young Ravenclaw got an encouraging smile as well.
Hogoddard? Hmmm? "It's Goddard, dear," she nodded towards the Slytherin girl. "And yes, but the word rocket would be a much more appropriate one rather than spaceship." Spaceships were more of a thing from muggle fantasy as far as the astronomer was concerned.

"And you believe correctly!"
Oh? Professor Burbage was rather surprised that this Hufflepuff had remained silent this time around. No matter. We all couldn't know everything! If only the elderly woman had had her glasses on instead of hanging around her neck she may have noticed what was written on the girl's parchment.

"EXCELLENT! Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimply excellent young man," she gushed over the Hufflepuff, showering him in golden sparkles as well. "Liquid-fuel rockets are a keeeeeeeeeey element in today's lesson."

Were they all putting the pieces together now? Hmmm?

"Very good, dear, very good!"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH! How incredible the mind of a youngster was. Chuckling and covering her mouth with one hand as she passed the young man, she offered him a quick wink.

Oh, bless this little Ravenclaw as well. Only calling one of astronomy's great minds her husband a second time lost just a liiiiiiiiiiitle but of its charm. "If only my Henry were as blessed with knowledge," she laughed as she moved along.
"It iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis smashing, isn't it?!" the woman agreed as she patted this one on the head. Pat pat. "Do be sure to empty your bottle, dear. You will be needing that sooooooooon."
"Oh goodness gracious hEAvens! Are you alright dear?" Marion exclaimed as she pat the Gryffindor prefect on the back FIRMLY. One must WHACK the hiccups out of others, yes? Whack whack whack.

"Eeeeeeeeexcellent points, dear, very good. Propuuuuuuuuuuuuuuulsion is a key element in today's activity as well." Very key indeed. They all DID have their wands with them, yes?
Deep in thought perhaps? At least she was still working away on her soda. Soon darlings.... sooooooooon!
"Not...AAAAAAAAAAAAALL, dear?" she asked, eyebrow still arched in the girl's direction. Now loooooooooong they had been teaching? Hmmmm....this one was walking on thin ice. But moving along...

"Very good, dear."

This young Hufflepuff earned an encouraging smile from her as well.

Oh....

Well, the pieces of this puzzle were slowly falling in to place for the woman as she listened to the girl speak. Especially since the captain of the Enterprise rocket that went into space she knew of was NOT Captain Kirk. "Dear, I would much appreciate it if you would allow yourself to separate fantasy from reality," she said with a small smile and worried expression on her face as she moved on.

"The same goes for you as it does for Miss Hyde, dear." Poor children.

"Very good darling," she said with a smile as she eyed the girl's bottle. Orange soda, very good choice. It was one of her favorite muggle flavors as well.

This little Gryffindor earned a sturdy chuckle from the woman as well, but no further comment. Children could be sooooooooo precious with their thoughts sometimes. SOMEtimes.
A good attentive listener. Marion nodded in approval as she moved on to the next student.
"Oh, nothing figurative about this man's discoveries!" she chirped, winking at the young Gryffindor. Although her answer had cause Professor Burbage to giggle as well. Such clever and funny students this lesson!

"Oh, not the first rocket dear, the first liquid fueled rocket," she corrected gently. "The Chinese had been experimenting with rockets looooooong before Mr. Goddard came around. However, these rockets resembled fireworks more so than what we all think of as a rocket. In Greece, a chaaaarming man named Archytas of Tarentum is credited with creating the first crude rocket shaped like a bird that flew around the room."

"You got it in the end dear, very good."
"Excellent darling," she said with a smile.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH! Was this a charming coincidence?!

"I am afraid I do not dear," she beamed at the young Slytherin. "Your Uncle Sylvester must be quite the studmuffin though." Oh ho ho ho!

"Afraid not dear," she said with a small shake of her head. "Although he is a very talented man and wizard in his own right."
"Very good dear," she smiled. "It should be a lesson to us all that we must not take other's criticism to heart. Especially when it is in conflict with our ambitions." Good life lesson for all!

Another pensive Ravenclaw. Good good. Was she still drinking her soda? Hmmmm?
This little Gryffindor was busy taking notes. Very good.
"You maaaaaaaaaaaaaay, but I am afraid you will not have time to drink it all before we move on," she nodded. Although...now that she thought about it...something HAD slipped her mind. Oh well. Nothing a bit of magic couldn't fix! Ho ho ho. "You may take a bottle of anything that is left over once the lesson is dismissed, however."
Oh dear, this one DID seem a bit nervous. Perhaps Marion should invite the girl for a cup of tea sometime and get to know her? She did seem like a charming young dear.
Hmmmmm. She paused for a moment on this Hufflepuff as she looked the girl up and down with a pleasant expression on her face. "Darling, it is ruuuuuuuuude to try to make yourself seem unsure when it is clear you have a fact to state." Knowing the title of such a prestigious publication was nothing to be ashamed of knowing.
Busy finishing off her soda it seemed, this one. Hopefully she was also paying attention. Yep yep.
Hmmmmm....did this one seem to be a bit dependent on the young man she was sitting next to? It seemed as though the young woman, oh...Head Girl even, was constantly referring to his notes instead of her own. HMMMM. Or perhaps it was her imagination. Still, maybe she would need to rearrange seating arrangements for the next lesson. One should focus on one's own notes after all. It was best for learning. Comparing could happen after the lesson.
NO.Apology.For.Being.Late?!

The boy was lucky that the thought of rockets and their activity had her distracted or she may have taken points from him again for being ruuuuuuuuuuuuuude.
Wait....how old was this young man?

Blinking in shock for a few moments, Professor Burbage slowly approached the boy and his duck. "I suppose he iiiiiiiiiiis," she chimed, patting the duck on its head. "But dear, could you please put him away for now?" Her classroom was no place for stuffed animals no matter how studmuffiny they may be.

"And I appreciate your honesty, dear. Perfectly alright not to know the answer!"

"It IIIIIIIIIIS a pity how often that happens," she nodded sadly. Hopefully these students would be able to be fully appreciated and know that they were. She certainly appreciated them all!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Eye Touz

That was kind of objective, in Aspen's opinion. For all the Professor knew, Aspen had been hexed and had to file her teeth down every day. Wasn't it rude of HER to point it out? Or maybe Aspen was sharpening her teeth as part of a vampiric ritual? Or, the truth, which was she was messing with Elijah? It was perhaps wrong, but was it rude? This is what Aspen thought about while she sipped soda and continued to watch Elijah squirm.

...Burbage REALLY believed that? That West was a rocket?

Haha teehee senile old lady. Aspen thought about levitating her brother to make Burbage's dreams come TRUE, beliefs into REALITIES.

It was funny to her and she laughed to herself, but she didn't deprive her baby brother of soda. He could have all he wanted.

Or almost all of them.

Being eeeeeeeeelderly and all, Professor Burbage did not hear the small chit chat coming from the fanged Ravenclaw. But...was she making googly eyes at Mr. Wilde. Ooooooooooh young love! Hopefully she wasn't getting too distracted...

Perhaps she really should do that assigned seating for next lesson...HMMMMMMM...
"I suppose you doooooo have a point with the hair," she nodded. She gasped when the boy burped, but at least he apologized. "You are excused, son."

"It is, very good dear."
Another pensive Slytherin. Very good. Hopefully she would finish her soda soon.
Professor Burbage cleared her throat. She couldn't entirely tell if she was being made fun of or not. Hmmmm.

"Very goooooooooooood."
She nodded as she watched the young Ravenclaw take down some more notes. Good good.
"Very good dear," she said with an encouraging nod.

Attentive listening. Good good. Very good

My my my....students seemed to know so much more than she did at their age. "Very good dear."
More note taking. Good good gooooooooooood.
"It is indeed," she nodded. "Soon you too will become little builders."

Oops! Had she revealed too much? Ho ho ho ho.

"And you believe correctly, Mr. Escalaaaaaaaaante," she sang. Such a lovely name to say. Loooooooovely.

Professor Burbage admired the quiet listeners just as much as she did those that offered up answers. Just because one did not speak did not mean that they were a poor student. No no no. She herself had been rather silent in her school days. Well, on days she was feeling a little under the weather at least.
"Very good darling," she smiled. See, wasn't she muuuuuuuch more attentive and focused being in proper dress?

"EXCELLENT connection, my dear! Very good!" she beeeeeeeeamed at the Ravenclaw. Oh yes, very good indeed. "Mr. Goddard took special interest in Newton's Principia Mathematica and paid special attention to the details of Newton's Third Law of Motion." She gestured towards the board for everyone to take a quick peek once more.

Too bad they would not be venturing into space...today.

Always the attentive Gryffindor, very good son. Very good. How was the soda drinking coming along?
"I am sure Hogwarts could have benefited from a scientific genius such as him, but no, sadly he was never a Headmaster at Hogwarts." Wouldn't THAT have been siiiiiiiiiiimply marvelous though!?

"Very good dear," she smiled. Hmmm...was this one beginning to do the Potty Dance in her seat? Marion checked her watch again. Oh yes, it was getting to be about that time...

"Yes yes, just as Mr. Odessa said, the Rocket Man," she nodded. ROCKET being the key word there darlings.
Oh dear! "No need to be upset dear, it is perfectly alright and expected not to know all the answers," she said gently to the Ravenclaw.
Another attentive listener, which was always appreciated. Hopefully this young man was not discouraged like his housemate seemed to be. It was never her intention to make students feel saaaaaaaaad about astronomy!

Professor Burbage returned, to the front of the classroom having finishing walking around as each student spoke, and beeeeeeeeeeeeamed at the class. "Very good all of you!" And she really did mean ALL of them. "This studmuffin here is Robert Hutchings Goddard who is an American physicist and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. Just as Miss Branxton said, he was a fan of Sir Isaac Newton and was especially interested in his Laws of Motion which helped him to create and successfully build the first liquid-fueled rocket." See the connection darlings? "You see dears, to make a rocket work properly is veeeeeeeeery dependent on these three Laws. Without a proper understanding of them, your rocket would never truuuuuuuuuuuly blast off."

Which would be an AWFUL shame.

She, of course, could have gone in to some rather lengthy calculations right now involving thrust and acceleration, but a basic foundation was more than enough for right now.

"As soooooooome of you may have guessed, today we WIIIIIIIIIIILL be building and setting off..." she paused for a moment. "BOTTLE ROCKETS! It is something I aaaaaaaaaaaaaalways wanted to do in my youth but just was never able to. Rather unfortunately really, so I doooo hope you do not mind my working along side you." But of coooooourse they didn't!

She moved behind her desk and waved her wand to remove a Disillusionment Charm she had placed on a large box. "In this box are the rest of the materials you will need to build your bottle rocket. Beeeeeeeeefore you get to doing so, because I see several of you already beginning to do the Potty Dance, please dooooooo take the time to use the rest room. Be sure to clean the inside of your bottle with a Scourgify. First years and those who do not know how to use the charm may wash out their bottle in the restroom."

She paused just long enough to set the box's contents out on the table. "I would like each of you to take a plastic bag, a piece of cardboard, and some dental floss." Which was mint flavored for those wondering. You should use the Severing Charm to cut things. Again, first years and those unsure of themselves should ask help from older students or myself."

She then turned to the board and gave her wand a firm flick. "Instructions for how to construct your rocket are on the board. You may of course add color and decoration if you wish. Just keep in mind that tooooooooo much of a good thing can be bad, darlings." She was just about to step aside when she recalled what she had remembered earlier. "Oh! I almost forgot." She pulled an EMPTY soda bottle out from under her desk and duplicated it with a spell until there were enough for each student. "You will also need one more bottle."

Oops. Hehehehe. Better that they just had to drink one full bottle of soda and not two, yes?

She beeeeeeeamed at the class once more. "I will be walking around and making my own bottle rocket if you have any questions or trouble." OOOOOOOOOOOOOH wasn't this exciting?! "Alright dears, time to become little rocket scientists! Get to it! Of you go!"

OOC: construction of your rocket should take AT LEAST 2 posts to complete for full participation point credit. Quality over quantity dears. Two well thought out posts can be better than many posts if you are creative and having fun! Feel free to interact with each other, but no injuries please. Professor Burbage will not like that very much. You will have at least 48 hours from the time of this post to complete this portion of the activity before we truly blast off. You may include a graphic of your completed rocket if you wish for possible extra credit, but it cannot be an image taken from the internet and MUST be either hand drawn or done in a graphics program.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Professor Burbage by VM or PM. HAVE FUN!