Rocketry Planet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:

Jack Colpas
Helping Kids Reach for the Stars
Phone / FAX (941) 955-3958
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http://www.TheRocketman.net

Date: March 2008

Summary

A national rocket contest is being launched to promote the Helping Kids Reach for the Stars program and to get kids interested in the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). The program is an Educational Outreach of the Christa McAuliffe Challenger Center. National winners get to celebrate with an astronaut at the Kennedy Space Center - Astronaut Hall of Fame or with author Homer Hickam and the “Rocket Boys” at the October Sky Festival. The contest is open until August 30th 2008 for everyone age 10 to adult. Contest hosts and sponsors are being sought at local and national levels.

Host a Rocket Contest and Help Kids Reach for the Stars

Helping Kids Reach for the Stars is an Educational Outreach of the Christa McAuliffe Challenger Center. The Reach for the Stars Rocket Contest is being launched to expand national awareness of the program.

The contest is designed to be hosted locally by schools, museums, scouts, youth groups and organizations of all descriptions. The Pause-for-Science© Rocket Construction video makes it easy - even for people who have never built a rocket. Step-by-step instructions guide contestants from construction through launch. Details are on-line at http://www.TheRocketman.net.

Everyone wins! Each contestant keeps their rocket and receives a full-color achievement certificate bearing the inspirational quote from Christa McAuliffe (teacher-in-space aboard the Challenger), “Push yourself as far as you can. Reach for the stars.” Local winners receive a commemorative certificate and entry into the national contest. Sponsors and hosts receive certificates of participation and terrific public relations. The nation gets kids who are excited about science and interested in technology, engineering and math. Contest hosts and sponsors are being sought on the local and national level.

Running the contest is as easy as 3...2...1...

3...Find at least 12 contestants and order rocket kits.

2...Build your rockets (the how-to video makes it easy)

1...Launch - closest landing to the target wins! Award certificates and send the winner's info to Contest Headquarters. The contest may be run nationwide (except RI where contests are prohibited by law).

Open to everyone age ten through adult, the contest offers competition in three skill levels.

• The Firehawk, a nearly snap-together model that is a favorite of cub scouts.
• The Alpha III, an easy-to-build model, pre-painted in brilliant orange and black it looks great on the launch pad and in the air.
• The Alpha, considered the gold standard for model rocketry. Offering a challenge in construction, it still sports the balsa wood fins of its predecessors.
• The Firehawk flies on mini-engines, while the Alpha III and Alpha take standard (A-C) engines. All models fly hundreds of feet into the sky and return to earth under a colorful parachute to be flown again and again.

The sport is safe. Estes, the preeminent model rocket manufacturer, boasts more than 40 years of model rocket safety. This includes an astounding 300 million launches! The models and engines used in the contest are considered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be below regulation (FAR101) and require no license or permit.

The closest landing of all contest entries received by the August 30th deadline wins the grand prize. National winners get their choice of celebrations. They can:

• Launch their winning rocket at the Astronaut Hall of Fame, receive a special tour of the facility for themselves and their family, have lunch with an astronaut, ride the Shuttle Launch Experience and tour the Kennedy Space Center – Visitors Complex.
• Launch from Cape Coalwood during the October Sky Festival with the original Rocket Boys on hand to give the countdown. Receive their trophy from author Homer Hickam and visit the sites in and around Coalwood, West Virginia made famous in the book “Rocket Boys” and the movie “October Sky.”

Either choice gives the winners bragging rights and memories that will last a lifetime!

The contest is affordable. The cost per contestant is about what you would pay for a movie ticket, popcorn and a drink . Not bad for an experience that will be recalled for a lifetime. Everyone remembers their first rocket launch. What other activity can you say that about?

There is no better way to turn your kids on to the STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. As Homer Hickam, author of “Rocket Boys” (inspiration for the movie “October Sky”) recently stated, "What's better than a rocket launch to inspire young people? They learn about science, engineering and, at the end, they get to launch a rocket. You can't beat launching a rocket with any kind of project. Once you press that button something is going to happen. It's much better than having (students) just sitting around and reading about things on a computer screen."

Jack and Kathy Colpas are retired public school educators. They co-direct the Helping Kids Reach for the Stars program - a Christa McAuliffe Challenger Center - Educational Outreach. The goal of the program is to give kids the unique educational experience of building and launching their own solid-fuel powered model rocket.