Rocketry Planet
| Host a contest and help kids Reach for the Stars |
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| 2009 Archived News by Helping Kids Reach for the Stars | |
| Wednesday, April 15, 2009 | |
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As Homer Hickam, author of "The Rocket Boys" (aka "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." Everyone remembers their first rocket launch. What other activity can you say that about? Compete locally. Celebrate nationally. The contests, which are designed to be run by local organizations, are safe, easy and affordable. Everyone benefits. All contestants get a reusable Estes model as well as the unforgettable experience of launching a solid-fuel powered rocket hundreds of feet into the sky. Contestants also receive a commemorative achievement certificate - suitable for framing. Each certificate bears an inspirational quote from Christa McAuliffe. Sponsors receive recognition and the satisfaction of Helping Kids Reach for the Stars. Running a local event is as easy as 3, 2, 1. Three - find at least twelve contestants and order supplies. Two - build and launch your rockets. One - award certificates and prizes. A step-by-step video and on-line help are available to guide you. More information is at www.TheRocketman.net. There are three contest levels for ages ten to adult. Time and supplies are limited. Get started now. Results from local events are entered in the national contest. National winners get their choice of launching their rockets at the Astronaut Hall of Fame and celebrating at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex - or they can celebrate with author, Homer Hickam and the original Rocket Boys at the October Sky Festival in Coalwood, West Virginia. They will also receive a Space Shuttle Challenger - commemorative coin as well as other prizes. Jack and Kathy Colpas are retired public school educators and founders of the Helping Kids Reach for the Stars model rocketry program. The program has been designated as an Educational Outreach of the Christa McAuliffe Challenger Center. CONTACT: Jack Colpas |
Students in the U.S. are falling behind in test scores. You have read about it and heard it in the news. We need to get kids involved in science, technology, engineering and math – the STEM subjects. To get them involved you have to get their attention. Nothing draws more attention than a rocket launch – except a rocket contest. To that end we offer the national Reach for the Stars Rocket Contests. | << Previous Article | Next Article >> |
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-Dave
-Dave
Yep, for sure.
The biggest problem with getting youth involved in rocketry is cost. Money sure got tight around these parts (Florida) when the depression struck. Estes jacking up the prices does not help.
Hosting a contest (where the rocket kits and motors are free) is a very good idea.
Meanwhile, I received a memo from my principal asking that my colleagues and I actively search our student roll to determine who is currently homeless ! These are the fastest growing "class" of students we have in Florida. It is tough to get these kids into the hobby when their families cannot even afford adequate food to eat !
Astrosaint
It's not just Florida, and it's not necessarily in areas that are known to be economically depressed. So far, we've been relatively lightly hit by the depression in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but I am becoming alarmed at the numbers of kids that are having to become "mobile", either due to domestic abuse/divorce/etc, the economic reasons, or just getting thrown out of their home by parents/step-parents/grandparents who've decided they can no longer, for whatever reason, tolerate the kid in the home. I've got three or four kids who've wound up having to find somewhere else to stay just since the Christmas break - that's just out of my 130 students that I see each day. It's scary.
Hosting a contest (where the rocket kits and motors are free) is a very good idea.
It sounds like a good idea to get participation. But I always wonder if providing everything for free is a good idea. Don't you?
I ask myself, "what does that teach kids?" Seems to me, and I could be wrong, is that it teaches them that someone else will always take care of them and they don't really have to work for anything worthwhile. I'd rather see the money that used to provide the free supplies be re-appropriated and put into the prize pool. That makes a bigger incentive for the kids to work hard to win the prize.
I ask myself, "what does that teach kids?" Seems to me, and I could be wrong, is that it teaches them that someone else will always take care of them and they don't really have to work for anything worthwhile. I'd rather see the money that used to provide the free supplies be re-appropriated and put into the prize pool. That makes a bigger incentive for the kids to work hard to win the prize.
Well, at my school, the rockets are built from household discards. They are not kits. This falls into the ultra-low budget category that many of these kids are in. It also motivates them into having to use their hands as well as their brains to do something.
My works seems to have paid off. Some years ago, I was introduced to a gangster in waiting who disliked school. He was a challenging child to work with. Well, after spending a year with him, he closed out the class by building a rocket from a Pringle's Can. MY GOODNESS, the kid was fussy about exact measurements. He went out and built a SECOND ROCKET to correct mistakes he made building the first one. He also borrowed a trig function calculator to figure the altitude his rocket went. He could not afford one and the worn out clothing he had indicated that such a purchase was not in the cards.
He was a hard worker on the project and it pushed him to go a different way.
He graduates this June near the top of the class and will enlist in the USAF after several years in AFJROTC.
That boy was worth a pack of Estes motors !
Second – TheRocketman website has been updated and is easier to navigate.
Third – Kids in the contest get to build a rocket, launch it twice and take it home along with a certificate of achievement - while participating in a national rocket contest that commemorates Christa McAuliffe. All without the expense of leaving their campus. With all of the financial cutbacks in schools, a program that provides this for less than $15 per contestant is worth consideration.
Forth – Rocketry has been the “Aha moment” for many, many students for over 50 years. Check out Homer Hickam’s, Rocket Boys and October Sky. We want to assist you in - Helping Kids Reach for the Stars.
Jack & Kathy Colpas, co-directors