Adams State College holds eighth rocket launching contest for young students (10-10-07)
Sierra Grande High School students, Rafael Martinez, junior; Breanna Roybal, junior, Ulysses Satillano, senior; Keri Smith, senior; Roxanne Soto, senior, Nano Delgado, junior; and Beatrize Ramirez, senior, enjoy the contest.
Five days and fifty years after Sputnik, junior high and high schools students launched rockets across the lawn of Richardson Hall during the annual Adams State College eighth Rocket Launching Competition on Oct. 10.
Sierra Grande High School students, Brian Torr, junior; and Jake Robbins, sophomore, were awarded the $750 scholarships to Adams State College. They placed third and fourth in the contest. "I came last year, too," Torr said. "It is a great time."
Salida Christian School students, Hannah Bartel, eighth grader, and Jay Peterson, seventh grader, took first and second place respectively. Only high school students are eligible for the scholarships. "This is my first year participating," Peterson said. "I enjoyed the contest." His and Bartel's teacher, Danielle York, said she was very proud of her students and she believes the event is a good project for the students.
Sierra Grande High School students Jake Robbins, sophomore, and Brian Torr, junior, and Salida Christian School students Hannah Bartel, eighth grade; and Jay Peterson, seventh grade; received the top four awards.
"The rocket contest integrates physics and studies of motion," York said. "It makes science real for our students."
Rockets were launched towards targets shaped as a rabid squirrel, a cross-eyed cat, and a vampire duck.
For nearly two hours, students launched rockets. Measurements were taken from rockets that came closest to the mark, and the furthest, from the target. Dr. Randall Emmons, professor of physics, organized the event, and Dr. Matt Nehring, chair of the Chemistry, Computer Science and Mathematics Department, ran the contest with the help of Shelly Grandell, an Adams State graduate student.
"It was clear that several teams really spent significant time designing their rockets and launch pads and it really paid off," Nehring said.
A rocket leaves the pad with a trail of water.
Roxanne Soto, a senior at Sierra Grande, said she had fun despite being sprayed with water and having her rocket fly into tree branches. "When I paired up with Keri Smith (senior at Sierra Grande) we started doing much better."
Compressed air was used to build pressure to launch the rockets filled with water. Some rockets had duct-tape wings, re-enforced noses, while others did little to alter their bottle.
Beatrize Ramirez, Robert Castillo, and Ana Banuelos, seniors at Sierra Grande High School send off a rocket.
Dr. Larry Sveum, retired dean of the Adams State School of Science, Mathematics, and Technology, Ed Adams, retired mathematics professor, and physics students helped measure the distances from rocket to target.
"I hope several of these students will consider future careers in science, mathematics, and engineering, Nehring said. "They have the raw talent."
All participants were treated to lunch and prizes were raffled.
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By Linda Relyea
