Trying to start a TARC team at my HS.

Hey guys!

I am currently a Junior at my High School and the Science Club president, and since I've been working on my Jr-Lvl 1 for a few months now, I was interested in trying to get other people interested in rocketry.

I wrote a proposal for my administrator talking mainly about the need of a mentor and how we would fund it, but was interested in seeing if there was anyone out there who established a team and had any advice about getting one off the ground. Our admin previously ran the robotics team, so she knows a thing or two about managing, but nothing at all about rocketry.

My main concern is making sure that the members understand what they are doing, enough to the point to where they can design and build their own rocket. That's why a mentor would be crucial, but I really have no idea where to get started.

Any advise?

At https://rocketcontest.org/docs.cfm you can find a document with the contact info for the 2015 mentors. See if any of those are in your area.

If not, the NAR.org and tripoli.org web pages have links to local clubs. You may find a mentor there.

If that fails, see if the local CAP or 4-H group has a rocketry program you can tag along with.

Please let us know if none of those work out and we can come up with more suggestions...

https://www.nar.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Mentor-List-16-Jan-15.pdf is the direct link to the NAR TARC Mentors. Look at the Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania mentors to find ones closest to you. The mentor should be able to help you help you organize your team and assist you in finding a field to practice on.

If you already have a science club, you should be able use have the science club advisor as your teacher contact within the school.

Each team is responsible for funding their efforts. A realistic budget for qualifying is approximately $1000. You'll want to build at least 3 rockets, and will probably purchase at several dozen motors, and at least 2 altimeters at a minimum and optimally 1 per rocket. You want to start early and practice a lot.

Different school have different rules. Maybe the school system will provide some funding, or will allow you to fund raise at a local mall or restaurant. There are also on-line fund me sites that TARC teams have used in past years.

You should look at the NARTARC Yahoo group for ideas and see what other teams are doing.


Bob