President greets TARC students

This is encouraging. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/stu...test-visit-oval-office-show/story?id=47386572

I really don't think it looks like a Mean Machine, not long and skinny enough...

That's pretty cool video

Thank you, Victory Christian Center School for the publicity you gave to our hobby! Thank you Mr. President Trump for hosting these fine young Americans and giving them this high profile venue. I hope they win so our hobby will gain more publicity so that we can encourage more youth to our hobby that educates our youth in the sciences. My only complaint is the use of projectile in the headline! It has the connotation of a weapon. But should I expect this from today's state of sensationalism journalist.

tmacklin said:

This is encouraging. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/stu...test-visit-oval-office-show/story?id=47386572

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Maybe

It's great that the president is hosting a TARC team in the Oval Office.

I would be a lot happier about this story if they hadn't named the rocket "Trump" and explicitly said it was because it would conquer all like the president did. #1 it is a gratuitous political statement in what is otherwise a pretty nonpartisan event. It would be like having teams show up in pink protesting hats. #2 it makes it look like Trump only invited them because they named the rocket after him. Even if that's not actually true, the fact that he only invited one team makes it look that way.

For those who do not know or remember, the president meeting with TARC teams is not a new thing.

Well, actually, meeting with a team that has not flown the finals yet is a new thing, seemingly optimized for photo-op purposes. Yes, that was politically blatant.

Rather than meeting with the winners as President Obama did for years.

https://www2.estesrockets.com/news/educator_0412a.html

boatgeek said:

It's great that the president is hosting a TARC team in the Oval Office.

I would be a lot happier about this story if they hadn't named the rocket "Trump" and explicitly said it was because it would conquer all like the president did. #1 it is a gratuitous political statement in what is otherwise a pretty nonpartisan event. It would be like having teams show up in pink protesting hats. #2 it makes it look like Trump only invited them because they named the rocket after him. Even if that's not actually true, the fact that he only invited one team makes it look that way.

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I just love how a simple gesture will be picked apart by hyper-partisans.

Heaven forbid that some kids take pride in their country and their president. Things are named after the president all the time - rivers, mountains, cities, airports, etc. Lewis and Clark named the 3 forks of the Missouri after president Jefferson and his cabinet members. Was that a gratuitous political statement? Maybe yes, maybe no. Does it matter? Mt. McKinley was named for presidential candidate William McKinley. It's a model rocket. Geez.

Good lord guys, the president is bringing visibility to our sport. He has his faults, but save the whining for your Facebook friends.

Cool! The TARC program is really good for model rocketry. I noticed that Trump gave credit to the NAR.

georgegassaway said:

For those who do not know or remember, the president meeting with TARC teams is not a new thing.

Well, actually, meeting with a team that has not flown the finals yet is a new thing, seemingly optimized for photo-op purposes. Yes, that was politically blatant.

Rather than meeting with the winners as President Obama did for years.

https://www2.estesrockets.com/news/educator_0412a.html

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Agreed.

aerostadt said:

Cool! The TARC program is really good for model rocketry. I noticed that Trump gave credit to the NAR.

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Exactly! This is good publicity. Let's let the students have their day in the sun.


Steve Shannon

Steve Shannon said:

Exactly! This is good publicity. Let's let the students have their day in the sun.


Steve Shannon

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I agree. Can't we leave politics out of a thread for a change?

georgegassaway said:

For those who do not know or remember, the president meeting with TARC teams is not a new thing.

Well, actually, meeting with a team that has not flown the finals yet is a new thing, seemingly optimized for photo-op purposes. Yes, that was politically blatant.

Rather than meeting with the winners as President Obama did for years.

https://www2.estesrockets.com/news/educator_0412a.html

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YEARS should be accentutated here...and it never really made the news. Wasn't surprising to see an educated, erudite individual connect with an aspiring base, since that's what MOST presidents are. Trump's sheet said "pointy end *** and "black people behind you are not terrorists".

soopirV said:

YEARS should be accentutated here...and it never really made the news. Wasn't surprising to see an educated, erudite individual connect with an aspiring base, since that's what MOST presidents are. Trump's sheet said "pointy end *** and "black people behind you are not terrorists".

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Yawn. The classic cliche from the left. You probably got lots of likes on the MSNBC forum with this witty reply. Thanks for locking this thread.

I noticed it and liked it when President Obama did it and I like it now. It's about the students, rocketry and creating appeal for STEM.

Steve Shannon said:

I noticed it and liked it when President Obama did it and I like it now. It's about the students, rocketry and creating appeal for STEM.

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Slightly off topic, but has anybody else noticed that "STEM" has turned into "STEAM?" The "Arts" wormed its way into the initiative. STEM has been wildly successful for engineering and science at universities, so the liberal arts cried foul and wanted in on the action.

Steve Shannon said:

I noticed it and liked it when President Obama did it and I like it now. It's about the students, rocketry and creating appeal for STEM.

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Yup. I liked it both times. I don't care to be a jerk on this topic. Not really sure how it's possible to be overly critical here for either President.

Buckeye said:

I just love how a simple gesture will be picked apart by hyper-partisans.

Heaven forbid that some kids take pride in their country and their president. Things are named after the president all the time - rivers, mountains, cities, airports, etc. Lewis and Clark named the 3 forks of the Missouri after president Jefferson and his cabinet members. Was that a gratuitous political statement? Maybe yes, maybe no. Does it matter? Mt. McKinley was named for presidential candidate William McKinley. It's a model rocket. Geez.

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FWIW, I would have said exactly the same thing if Obama had invited a TARC team that named their rocket after him before the fly-offs. And I would think it would be a great thing if the winning TARC team is invited to the White House.

But the really important question: Did they really conquer all or did they CATO?

I sincerely hope that TARC team wins . . . They look like a great bunch of kids with bright futures ahead of them !

Dave F.

Ez2cDave said:

I sincerely hope that TARC team wins . . . They look like a great bunch of kids with bright futures ahead of them !

Dave F.

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Dave,

I was one of the pad managers today who helped the Victory Christian team fly. (I got to shake the hand that shook the hand, LOL.) Great kids and really nice parents (they are staying in my hotel). They did not win overall today but they won just by being here (one of the 100 finalist teams out of the over 800 who entered this year), and by meeting the president.

Incredibly proficient TARC flying today, only 4 DQs out of 102 flights. Overall winner was the team from Festus, Missouri (photo below). The school in Festus was coached by a teacher who is a former TARC participant, herself!

This was TARC's 15th year and if you ever get a chance to come to the finals, don't miss it! Absolutely spectacular event! Kudos to all of you who witnessed flights, mentored or coached a team, or who volunteered at the finals today (over 100 of us). Most kudos of all to Trip Barber who help create and nurture this truly incredible event.

Steve

Gus said:

I got to shake the hand that shook the hand

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Is this a common saying or something similar? The same phrase was in the book Pink and Say but Google searches return little of relevance to the quote. (In quotes, this thread is the sixth result that appears for me.)

Trip Barber has sent out the final results. The results can be found in the attached pdf file. Note that the far right column gives the total number of points. Tenth place had a total of 45 points. So, the average per flight would in order to place in the top ten would be 22.5 points per flight.

View attachment TARC 2017 Finals Results.pdf

Congratulations to the McKinney High School TARC team and their Second Place in the contest. Go Lions!

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/mck...igh-students-blasting-nasa-rocket-competition (you may have to disable your ad blocker to view this)

and these

[video=youtube;tvyMujbhyXc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvyMujbhyXc[/video]
[video=youtube;ZFVwmSIIOUQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFVwmSIIOUQ&t=11s[/video]

I am proud to have made an unintentional contribution to this effort by finding and securing the launch site near Gunter, Texas on the Martinek farm where these students have been testing their rocket.

SO COOL!!
Thanks,

tmacklin said:

Congratulations to the McKinney High School TARC team and their Second Place in the contest. Go Lions!

I am proud to have made an unintentional contribution to this effort by finding and securing the launch site near Gunter, Texas on the Martinek farm where these students have been testing their rocket.

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You should've gone to the last meeting; Jack S. brought the transition that they flew in the competition.
"Why?" I ask to further my narrative.
Well, they wrote stuff on it, specifically signatures and a hashtag. But they spelled Huntsville as Huntville so it had to be fixed.

So I got to hold the transition that held the rocket that held the competition stuff (clay pigeons and a lander IIRC.)

What this amounts to I do not know.

Incongruent said:

You should've gone to the last meeting; Jack S. brought the transition that they flew in the competition.
"Why?" I ask to further my narrative.
Well, they wrote stuff on it, specifically signatures and a hashtag. But they spelled Huntsville as Huntville so it had to be fixed.

So I got to hold the transition that held the rocket that held the competition stuff (clay pigeons and a lander IIRC.)

What this amounts to I do not know.

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Kudos to DARS president Jack Sprague for his tireless work in assisting the McKinney, Texas TARC team.

Buckeye said:

Slightly off topic, but has anybody else noticed that "STEM" has turned into "STEAM?"

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Yep! I like it!

Page 18 of this report from the folks who administer the SAT shows that students who participate in school music programs scored an average of 31 points above average in reading, 23 points above average in math, and 31 points above average in writing.

https://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/TotalGroup-2012.pdf

Can't argue with solid data. Arts education matters, and dovetails nicely into STEM education.

James

Music is all about math, frequencies, and patterns. Think about it.