Enhancing Elementary Science Teachers’ Competence through STEM-Based Fun Science Training: A Water Rocket Project Using Simple Materials

This community service activity is grounded in the limited capacity of elementary school science teachers to use simple experiments and contextual media as meaningful learning tools. This activity aims to enhance teachers’ competencies through a fun science training program based on a Mini Water Rocket project using simple materials. The training was conducted on October 25, 2025, at Sekolah Dasar Islam Terpadu Tahfizhul Qur’an Al Hanif Ledeng. It included presentations on concepts related to force, motion, pressure, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) integration. The activity stages included preparation, planning, implementation, evaluation, and follow-up, combining theoretical instruction, visual demonstrations, and discussions on contextual learning design. The evaluation results indicate that teachers understood the components of water rocket materials and could explain the scientific processes involving air pressure and thrust. However, their understanding remained limited to assembly and basic measurement, without addressing the Engineering Design Process and numerical analysis. This training enhanced teachers’ initial insights and suggests the need for further mentoring to strengthen STEM competencies holistically through simple, curriculum-aligned media.