|
A rocket won’t light unless someone pushes the button |
|
|
|
|
Editorial by JAMES B. SIBLEY
|
|
Tuesday, October 19, 1999 |
|
AFTER READING Brett Keller’s “YOUth Really Can Make a Difference,” I started thinking. Thinking about the decline in youth activity in rockets. It has been found that the average age of “rocketeers” is around 40. This shocked me. I know there are those in the hobby of rockets that are 60-80 and that is fine -- it is just that when you think about it, there are a lot of them, more than teens.
Maybe one reason is that these “older” rocketeers were inspired by the moon program, Sputnik like Homer Hickam, or just seeing a rocket in flight. The first time I saw a model rocket was when I was 7. I was at a park with a friend of mine when this man and his son came with a 2 foot rocket and an Estes pad. I stood 15 feet away and saw it go. I thought is was the neatest thing in the world, but forgot all about it before I came home so I couldn’t tell my mom or dad.
The next time I saw one was 11 months later, before I moved to Atlanta. It was my friend's brother's. He had 5 or so rockets and launched them when his friends were over. He used a fuse to light them when the ignitors wouldn’t work. After seeing them, I went to K-mart the next day and bought a Scorpion rocket kit. My first flight was a disaster but the next flight was a success.
This was a great thing to do on my free time but it wasn’t until I saw the movie October Sky and read the book Rocket Boys that I started getting serious. I went from making not-so-good grades to the A-B honor roll and then when I entered High School, I started to love school (except english...). Which brings me to a new topic besides my life story ;-)
I think that there is something about rockets and the hobby of rockets that gets everyone’s attention. When I moved to Atlanta earlier this year, I was known as a smart kid just like all the other geeks and nerds, but I wasn’t treated like that.
I would study rockets and read rocket magazines in school on my free time and everyone said I was real smart and considered me a nerd or geek but didn’t treat me like it. They still don’t. I brought Sport Rocketry and High Power Rocketry to school for a few days and everyone wanted to see it. They all were fascinated by my hobby.
What I think would get students into doing their school work and having fun is a hobby that interests everyone. Most hate math and science in my school, and yes I admit, I did too, but rocketry took my interest sky high. We could us rocketry in science to teach physical science. Things like Newton’s laws of motion, gravity, drag, and anything else that can be thought of. For math, the students could be asked to do math equations to predict altitude, speed, and center of pressure at different angles. In technology class, altimeters could be constructed. Anything.
I know that rocketry has been brought into some schools, but not most. Maybe it is because the school thinks that it would be dangerous or doesn’t see the point.
Brett Keller’s article also brought another point to my attention. I am not anti-NAR or TRA either, I am a member of the NAR (#74834). I think that it is a great organization but paying $20 for junior membership I think is too much. Or juniors, I think they should offer the membership for $15 and maybe give something to them that leaders or seniors can’t have. Now, I am still going to renew my membership, but I would still want would want more for my money. If it weren’t for the NAR though, I may still be stuck in the dark trying to build rockets using an unknown substance when I can’t find my epoxy. I found out about the NAR section SoAR #571 and that took me to my first launch. Was that fun!
Before I go, I would also like to agree with Brett on getting younger kids interested. I have let my sister Ashleigh push the button on my rocket and now she loves it. She wants to push it everytime, even when I want to have a chance at it. :-) Even let a young stranger that you never seen before push the button. That might even spark their “Estes C6-3 part of their interest.”
James B. Sibley is a high school student and a frequent flying rocketeer from the Atlanta, Georgia area. You may reach him by email at
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
. |
