SHEBOYHAN, Wisconsin USA — After peppering the B-52 bomber pilot with questions via radio as the massive jet neared Sheboygan about noon Friday, Jonathon Block and two other members of his Kohler Boy Scout troop scrambled into position as the eight-engine plane flew low over Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center.

Block, 12, raced with his friends to one side of the parking lot and then the other, trying to position themselves directly beneath the bomber as it approached the crowd gathered at the tip of the South Pier District.

Block jumped up and down in anticipation as the plane approached, then threw his arms in the air as it passed 1,200 feet overhead.

"That was really awesome!" he yelled to no one in particular before finding his mom to reiterate: "That was awesome! Did you see that?"

Block's troop was among the hundreds of students gathered at Blue Harbor on Friday for the first day of Rockets for Schools. The 11th annual event kicked off with a full day of presentations, exhibits and preparation for the dozens of rockets that will shoot skyward today.

But the flyover was the exclamation point Friday, and a highlight for many.

"It's so huge," said Sam Schmitt, 12, a fellow Scout from Block's troop.

Schmitt was among the students who stepped up to the radio as the bomber approached to ask the pilots about combat experience, whether they have surpassed the sound barrier and — the most frequent question — what education is needed to be a pilot.

Ron Roen, a Navy intelligence officer from Nebraska who coordinated the B-52 flyover and radio contact, said the plane left Friday morning from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, and incorporated the flyover into a 10-hour training mission.

Randy Lutz, co-director of Rockets for Schools, said the appearance gives the event a clean sweep of the U.S. Air Force bombers.

"We've in past years had the B-1 and the B-2, so now the B-52," he said. "Our whole bomber fleet has flown over (Sheboygan) over the last couple years."

The hours surrounding the flyover were a tightly packed series of events that included presentations on everything from hobby rocketry and Mars to competitive robot-building. In between those, students could peruse exhibits such as a flight simulator, a space shuttle landing simulator, an inflatable planetarium and a host of other space- and technology-related booths in Blue Harbor's conference center.

Kaden Voss, 12, of Fond du Lac, was sneaking in one last virtual shuttle landing as students returned from lunch for the first of the afternoon presentations.

"My favorite one was the virtual flying thing," he said. "I want to be a pilot, actually."

Nurturing such ambitions is why Rockets for Schools is so important, said state Sen. Joe Leibham, R-Sheboygan, the first of the afternoon speakers.

"As excited as we are about today and this weekend, I think we can be even more excited about your futures," he told the assembled students. "We're very excited about you becoming the future generation of leaders here in the state of Wisconsin."

His thoughts were echoed by Maj. Gen. Al Wilkening, commander of the Wisconsin National Guard who flew to Sheboygan in a Blackhawk helicopter for his annual visit to the event. He spent several hours touring exhibits and talking to students.

"I get excited when I come up here to see the kids," Wilkening said. "Their eyes open to what the future holds for them. … It's all about giving kids an opportunity to learn."

Friday was also judgment day for builders of the 6- and 8-foot rockets that will be launched from South Pier today, Lutz said. The student teams from Wisconsin, northern Illinois and Michigan were evaluated on rocket construction, a rocketry worksheet, presentation and payload — an experiment of some kind each group conducts during the flight.

All that effort comes to a head today, as the rockets fly from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. under what Lutz hopes will be clear skies.

"Saturday is really the payoff," he said. "(The weather) might be a little iffy … but we'll try our darndest to get all the rockets launched."