It's fine family entertainment.

If that sounds too bland, how about this? Rocketeering amazes kids and adults alike. It challenges big brains and fires big imaginations. It teaches math, science, even literary skills; stresses responsibility and cooperation; encourages inquiry.

Southern Colorado Rocketeers member John Boren works on a rocket. Photo: John Jaques.

But is it fun? It's (you know this is coming) a blast!

Elliott Blessman, 12, says he's always been interested in rockets and space flight, and joined the local Southern Colorado Rocketeers club a few years ago.

"My mom asked me, ‘Would you like to do model rockets?’ and I said, ‘Yeah.’ I got a rocket and built it and found out when the launch was and joined."

Elliott and his brother, Steven, 14, regularly attend club launches, which means a drive of more than an hour from their home near La Veta.

Jason Unwin (left) watches as Steven Blessman, 14, launches a rocket on a recent club launch day. Photo: John Jaques.

The Southern Colorado Rocketeers have launch days the third and fourth Saturdays of the month at Hudson Ranch between Pueblo and Beulah. The third Saturday is "high power" day when members can fly rockets to a maximum altitude of 8,000 feet AGL (above ground level) with FAA approval, says Jason Unwin of Cotopaxi, who helped organize the rocket-building and -flying events at Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum that led to formation of the rocket club.

Unwin says there are whole families that belong to the Rocketeers, and 29 of the 56 club members are children. Twelve are women or girls.

"Admittedly, it is primarily a male-dominated activity, but women and girls are welcome to participate, and I would really like to see more involved in the club," Unwin writes in an e-mail.

Members of Southern Colorado Rocketeers prepare to launch their rockets. Photo: John Jaques.

Pueblo teacher Sharon Mott says her family got involved in rocketry in 2004 when her daughter's MESA club at South High School took part in the national Team America Rocketry Challenge, one of only 100 teams.

"She and her team spent many hours in the garage, in the science lab and with the SCOR team members learning about rocketry, physics, testing, building and perfecting their rocket, payload bay and parachutes," Mott says via e-mail. "They competed in Virginia where they got to speak with engineers and astronauts from NASA including Homer Hickam, the original Rocket Boy from ‘October Sky.’ It was a valuable and wonderful experience for the team."

Mott's husband Bill later started tinkering with leftover rocket parts and soon was designing and building his own rockets and kits. Some of his rockets were included in an exhibit last year at Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center.

A rocket leaves the launch pad during a recent Southern Colorado Rocketeers launch. Photo: John Jaques.

"I think some days he is obsessed! Our family room has almost two dozen rockets on display and his workshop has several in various stages of building or repair," Mott says.

Teacher Ben Whitfield of Beulah School says rocketeering is a natural when it comes to kids learning science and math. Some District 70 schools have used it for literature, also. There's craftsmanship involved in designing and building rockets, as well as having to precisely follow directions, and students learn about responsibility by flying their rockets.

"At 70 feet off the ground, a rocket can have accelerated to 300 mph," Whitfield says. "Larger, higher-powered rockets exceed the speed of sound. There are strict safety precautions, and we make sure the kids learn them."

Whitfield recently led a rocket-building day at Beulah school for Cub Scouts, followed by a rocket-flying session a week later at Hudson Ranch. He also planned to meet with 4-H members in hopes of interesting them in rocketry.

Whitfield says there are opportunities in both scouting and 4-H for young people interested in rocketry and space flight.

Unwin agrees that building and flying rockets is a great educational opportunity. Building a rocket from a kit such as an Estes rocket helps further reading skills, the ability to understand diagrams, spatial perception and how things work within a system.

Jason Unwin prepares his Patriot rocket for launch at a site north of Lake Pueblo. Photo: John Jaques.

Flyers also must have - or attain - a basic understanding of physics, he says.

"Model and high-power rocketry use all of Newton's three laws of motion, but you don't really need to be a ‘rocket scientist’ to have fun with the hobby."

Having fun is a big part of the equation, he says.

"Have fun and don't be afraid to experiment. Some of our members are absolutely great at building scale models, building models from the past, collecting old models, and finishing their models in a high-quality manner. We all experiment to varying degrees of success."

Elliott Blessman, 12, adds finishing touches to his rocket before flying it. Photo: John Jaques.

Don't kids already have enough technology in their lives? And how can adding more bring extra fun? Get them away from the TV or the computer, Unwin says, get them building a rocket and flying it, and they discover a new enjoyable activity and get great satisfaction when that rocket flies correctly as planned.

"Very rarely is some child, or for that matter adult, not impressed when their own rocket or some exotically designed rocket flies successfully or spectacularly," he says.

Unwin built rockets as a kid, put aside the hobby during college, and dusted it off as an adult. "I'm a born-again rocketeer," he says.

He likes the technical aspects involved in correctly flying a rocket.

"There's no limit to it. Some people put electronics in their rockets to conduct scientific experiments. Some people even mount cameras on them. There's really no limit to rocketry - except time and money."

Unwin says a person can spend $20 at a local discount store for a rocket kit that has everything needed to get started. Hobby stores also carry kits. Like any other hobby, rocketry can cost as much as you want to spend, he says.

Corry Hitchner, 11, prepares to mount his rocket for launch. Photo: John Jaques.

Whitfield, too, fell in love with rockets as a boy and can tell you where and when he was smitten: "Billy Arthur's Hobby Shop in Chapel Hill, N.C., 1966. Oh yes, it was something. As a child I was fascinated. I was very hooked on the idea of rockets and rocketry. Ever since I saw that first rocket, I never got over the thrill of flying.

"Vernon Estes changed a lot of ‘basement bombers’ to rocketeers," Whitfield adds. "There are a lot of fingerless adults today, who thought if you mixed these things together and created a bang, it might fly a rocket."

Southern Colorado Rocketeers' mission includes interesting youths in rocketry, science and possible space careers.

"Potentially," Whitfield says, "there might be another (Wernher) von Braun or Neil Armstrong or Sally Ride out there."

For one, Elliott Blessman says he likes chemistry and aerodynamics and would like to study rocket science later in life.

"You can blow things up with chemistry, you can fly things with aerodynamics," he says.

More information about Southern Colorado Rocketeers is available by e-mailing This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , or by contacting the club through the Web site http://www.scronline.net/.

Copyright © 2007, The Pueblo Chieftain.

10-22-2007 06:26 AM  #1
denverdoc Rana sapiens   Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 2814	Jason, Nice write up--congrats to you and your club. Still hoping to get down there one of these w/e's.

10-22-2007 08:43 AM  #2
Blkbart46 Builder of tube& ring fin   Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 9	Excellent Article about Education and Model Rockets What a great article I am going to E-mail this to THE HARRIS COUNTY COMMSIONERS. They allow Model air planes at their parks and have a special site exclusively for model airplanes.There is a sign that says No Model rockets may be flown here.tHAT REALLY HURT MY FEELINGS BECAUSE i PAY TAX DOLLARS JUST LIKE THE MODEL AIRPLANERS DO SO WHY ARE WE KEPT OUT.THIS IS IN HOUSTON TEXAS AT TOM BASS PARK CAN YOU BELEIVE THAT

11-24-2007 01:13 AM  #3
denverdoc Rana sapiens   Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 2814	Well I was able to get down for a score launch last w/e. Great group of folk with a lotta enthusiasm and a pretty darn good field. Even had a volunteer fireman who smoked like a chimney come out with his brush truck for some sparky flights, and seemed delighted to have something to do when a K SM started a little something. Talk about service! Can't wait to get down there again as temps in the winter in Pueblo can be 10 to 15 degree warmer than denver--I recall playing golf in short sleeves on Xmas day a few years back. I urge anyone near by to join the fun. About 2 hrs from the tech center in Denver to the site.