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Up, up, and away! The ENC sponsored a team to compete in the world’s largest rocket contest, the annual Team America Rocketry Challenge, alongside more than 700 teams and 7,000 students in 48 states. Over the last 8 months, the ENC team – consisting of four students in grades 7 to 12 – has been busy designing, building, and testing a rocket in three local qualification flights. The top 100 teams with the lowest scores will be invited to compete in the fly-off finals outside Washington, D.C. on May 10, where they will compete for $60,000 in cash and scholarships.
To see more pictures, click HERE.
The 2014 TARC competition marks the 12th year of inspiring the next generation of engineers to study math and science and join the aerospace industry. The competition began in 2003, as a way to mark the 100th anniversary of flight. This year, teams must launch a 3.3 pound rocket that can travel to an altitude of 825 feet and then return to Earth within 48 to 50 seconds. But there’s a catch: each rocket must also carry “astronauts” in the form of two raw eggs, which must return to the ground uncracked.
Lori Whalen, Education and Community Relations Director at the ENC, is thrilled that the ENC is sponsoring a team. “It’s important for young kids to have a unique hands-on experience with science and engineering that they wouldn’t find in the classroom. It brings new challenges and they are able to discover what really interests them as they begin thinking about college and career options,” she said.
The ENC is one of several Southern California teams involved in the competition. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, an educational outreach society of engineers and scientists, has hosted Orange County teams for the past 7 years, with 5 teams this year.
TARC has proven to be a meaningful opportunity for these students. TARC has reached over 55,000 students in the past decade, influencing 81% of those participants to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and/or math. The students obtain valuable experience in engineering, aerodynamics, and meteorology, as well as teamwork and communication. Further, the top 20 teams are invited to the NASA Student Launch Initiative program and the top 10 teams will compete for three $2,500 grants to design, build and launch an advanced rocket with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
By Allison Garrett, ENC Intern