Rockets for Schools to host rocket launch event in Sheboygan featuring NASA speaker
SHEBOYGAN — This May, nearly 200 students from seven states will come to Sheboygan to launch rockets over Lake Michigan as part of the annual Rockets for Schools aerospace education event.
On May 10 and 11, students in grades 6-12 from Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California and Kentucky will participate in the Secondary School Launch.
Carol Lutz, co-director of Rockets for Schools, said there’s always a good turnout and she’s excited for the event.
“(The students) are fun to work with,” she said. “They enjoy the program. We do it every year just because of the kids.”
Students attending will build rockets, design a payload experiment to fly in the rocket, complete a worksheet and present to compete against other teams.
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All informational displays and launches are open for the public. These will take place at Blue Harbor Resort.
May 10, the public can see the event and displays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Blue Harbor Conference Center. Rocket launches will begin May 11 at 9 a.m. and end around 2:45 p.m.
Donald Thomas, a former NASA astronaut, will also speak at the event May 10.
The competition will be judged on a point system with four categories: rocket construction, a rocketry worksheet, payload design and presentation.
Before arriving, teams will completely build their rockets (sent to them after they applied for the competition), design and build their payload, design a mission patch and informational display about the payload, and complete the worksheet.
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The competition has three divisions: Class I Jr for sixth- through eighth-graders, Class I Sr for ninth- through 12th-graders, and Class II. To build a Class II rocket, the team is required to have previously launched a Class I rocket.
Class I students are competing for first-, second and third-place trophies while Class II is competing for first-, second- and third-place for an opportunity to go to the NASA Student Launch in Huntsville, Alabama.
Beyond presenting and launching their rocket, the days will be filled with experiences for students. Various exhibits and interactive activities will be offered including a NASA drop tower, part of an airplane kids can climb into and door prizes.
On launch day, when a group’s own rocket isn’t being launched, they will still be able to fill roles like running cameras, tracking launched rockets and more.
The history of this competition dates to 1996 when students came to Sheboygan to learn from NASA personnel and see the city become the first inland sub-orbital launch site. The rocket contained a payload constructed by University of Wisconsin-Madison’s engineering school professionals and student and 12,000 people attended.
More about the event and the history of the launch can be found on the Rockets for Schools website.
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This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Rockets for Schools in Sheboygan to host rocket launch, NASA speaker
