Launch at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf

Educational outreach has always been important to me personally as well as one of the hallmarks of how FlisKits operates.  There are many aspects of this, one of which is clearly to support the hobby and introduce more young people to the fun of model rocketry.

More than that though is bringing to these young people the sense of "I did this!" The wonder one experiences when one does a complex task that results in a successful feat.  Model rocketry is one way to do this.  It is MY preferred way to do this and I simply love the look of excitement, pride and fulfillment that I see in the eyes of children around the world when they succeed in rocketry.

I have been involved in the teaching of model rocketry to our youth for more than 3 decades.  I have had many wonderful experiences and enjoyed the wonder of many young boys and girls.

HOWEVER... I was not prepared for the wonder, excitement and tenacity of a large group of deaf and hearing impaired children from the Horace Mann School for the Deaf. These kids had never heard of model rocketry before.  They didn't know the terms common to our hobby and certainly didn't have hand signs to describe them.  With the help of patient teachers and creative interpreters these young visionaries built their first model rocket ever, the Thing-a-ma-Jig.

I was invited to come down for the launch and was honored to be a part of this.  With the exception of a few tangled parachutes this group of kids did a 100% perfect job!    For the most part I treated this group just as I would any other.  We did not prepare their motors or parachute.   We did not put their rockets on the pad and hook up the clips.  We did not launch and recover their rockets.  This was THEIR job to do.  It was MY job to explain the steps to them.

What an experience!  Something as simple (to me) as explaining how to install the igniter took on a whole new life when I was flanked by interpreters and had to use descriptions that did NOT use words like "igniter" or "nozzle".  But they persevered.  And so did I.

My heartfelt thank you to Fiona for her work in making this happen.  Thanks also to Jeremiah Ford, the schools Principal and all of the teachers and helpers that worked with these kids and exposed them to something so new and exciting as rocketry.

But, most of all, THANK YOU to all of the students who clearly worked so hard on such a foreign project and came through it all with flying colors.  You kids are simply incredible and I am proud to have met you and worked with you on launch day.

The photo album at the left has been approved by the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and is just a small sampling of the day.  If you get a chance, fly with a club, fly with kids, teach the kids.  Have fun and enjoy!