Pollard Elementary School Launch
Plaistow, NH - May 2005 - Week 2
A group of happy rocketeers!
Part 2 of last weeks launch. Hey, we had
150 students in this class! I am certainly not going to try to do THAT in one day!
We had prearranged to split the launch into two days. Last week we did 4
classes of about 25 students each. This week concluded with the remaining two
classes of students.
Even after doing so many of these classes I have
learned a lot. Be careful of kids holding rockets bumping into other kids.
Have super glue handy. Do not underestimate the power of 25 kid-filled lungs when
screaming a count down!
| Things that I have known all along
and do with every class. Let the kids do it. I can not stress this
enough. Be sure to follow this hand list of Don'ts: Do Not:
Install their igniter.
Install their motor.
Put the recovery wadding in.
Fold and install the parachute.
Put their rocket on the pad.
Hook up the igniters.
Launch their rocket.
Recover their rocket.
Let the student do it.
That is the only way they will learn. And, if the picture to the right is any
indication, have a heck of a lot of fun while LEARNING! (what a concept!) |
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We had the normal assembly
concerns, such as fins not as straight as they should be, but nothing to cause a risk;
Launch lugs not perfectly straight; some fins snapped off due to careless handling; and
the occasional ball of glue or paint in the lug that had to be cleared out.
We also had some *not* so normal assembly
concerns such as engine mounts not glued in or glued with very sparse use of glue, shock
cord mounts not glued in well enough and (in one case) an engine mount glued in backwards.
All of these items amounted to quick field
repairs and all 150 models were declared flight worthy.
Letting the kids perform all of the work
themselves resulted in the following statistics:
150 models built
150 models declared flight worthy
150 models prepped for flight
150 models launched on the first attempt
149 models recovered in near fight worthy condition (one kicked the engine mount
and came down in the woods)
Not bad for a bunch of beginners!
I could not have had more fun had they been my
very own rockets in the air. I am truly proud of all of these kids and also of the
teachers who presented this lesson to them. Good job, all around!
If you see a photo of your child that you would like a full
size version of (these on the site are very low resolution), please make your request to
FlisKits through your child's teacher at Pollard Elementary School. I can not honor
any direct requests (I am terribly sorry) and will only send such images to your child's
teacher for distribution.
Click on the thumbnails at the left for full size images
here, and enjoy the photo album!
jim
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