B&GC going again (slowly)

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jflis

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Well, it looks like there is finally some activity with the boys & Girls Club again. In the past I ran 7 week sessions and usually 8-10 different classes each session. That ended over the summer and it wasn't until well into the school year that they called me back.

Now I am back to doing rocketry only (as when I started with them years and years ago) and do sessions that go for a month (3-4 weeks). This limits us a bit, but since they've been asking me back every month it really isn't all that different from my 7 week programs, just broken into 2 distinctive sessions.

Last month we did the Rhino. Problem was we had a teachers conference on one Friday and a snow day on another so we only had 2 weeks. So we were able to get them built but not flown. A show of hands showed that everyone there was signing up for the Feb session so we decided we would launch the Rhino's with the Feb rockets.

We started our Feb build last week, working on the Avalear. I wanted to get these kids into a rocket that had them cutting out fins as we are going to ramp this group up into more advanced studies pretty quickly.

Now, for fin cutting I always make a point to do a quick safety lecture at the beginning of the session. Most of these kids were new to hobby knives, so it was one of my longer lectures.

We had just changed the blades in all of our knives, so they were *very* sharp. To emphasize this, I began my "safety" lecture, as I often do, by holding up a sheet of paper and swiping the knife across it to show how little pressure is needed to shred the paper... Holding up the paper I begin with 5 quick swipes... ...one of which goes right across the thumb holding the paper... cut deep too. man.... A quick clean up and a bandage and we can go back to the "safety" lecture which now began "don't do that, k??" LOL

All in all it was a great session. We got the engine mount done and the fins cut out. We finish the assembly next week then go on to launch!

Here are some pix

OH! I also had the opportunity to do a lecture on model rocketry and the space program to the entire student body at our local Academy of Science and Design (charter school). From this group we are going to put together a rocketry class in the hopes of starting a TARC team next school year. See last pix below

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That's always the way that things like that work out. I used to teach stained glass classes years ago. I was teaching a class on wiring an electrical lamp and I wanted to show them the basics of a circuit. I plugged in a cord with exposed wires on the other end (was going to touch them to a light bulb) and didn't notice that they were touching. Boom! That woke everyone up and really emphasized how dangerous electricity could be. So I understand your situation :)
 
We, we've finished our February class and had great success! We flew the Avalear (built in Feb) as well as the Rhino (built in Jan). We lost our fly day last month due to snow so we doubled up the launch this session.

It actually worked out great as we hit a "heat wave" with temps near 60 at the time of launch!

Everyone had a great time and will be signing up again next month. More good news too. We've received word that we're back on for adding the advanced version of this class as well. So next month will be two sessions!

You can see the photo album by following this link.
 
Jim,

Would you be willing to package up the lesson plan with a bulk pack of rockets, so that TRF members could volunteer the same sort of program at their local B&GC or YMCA? I wold be willing to shop the bundle to the Y nearby in Alexandria, they buy the bundle pack and supplies, I donate my time, and the kids get a great experience.

Whaddaya think?

G.D.
 
Jim,

Would you be willing to package up the lesson plan with a bulk pack of rockets, so that TRF members could volunteer the same sort of program at their local B&GC or YMCA? I wold be willing to shop the bundle to the Y nearby in Alexandria, they buy the bundle pack and supplies, I donate my time, and the kids get a great experience.

Whaddaya think?

G.D.

We already offer bulk packs of any kit on our web site. Adding a quick lesson plan wouldn't be a problem, just remind me at the time you're requesting a quote. What I will look in to is added incentives for TRF members (as well as members of other forums) and I will report back here and in the vendors forum.

We don't have any pre-packaged offerings because we can't know your particular needs (size of class, level of skill, wants and desires, etc) so we custom quote all of our educational orders.

You can send me an email to start the quote process. We can usually get the first cut of a quote out to you in a day and then begin to fine tune it (if need be) to your exact needs, including lesson plans :)

For more web based information I invite you to visit our Educational Web Site for more information. Click on BULK PACKS for bulk pack information.

I hope this helps.

Anyone wanting additional information on how to run a B&GC program (or any youth rocketry program), please ask questions here or via email. We have helped hundreds of programs get started around the country and we can help you too!

jim
 
Our March session was small (5 kids) but we were able to do beginner and advanced. One of the kids did both explaining "I just wanna build rockets!" :)

Beginners built the Over Drive and the advanced kids built the Tri-Glide. We only had 3 kids make it to the launch and here are a couple of pix

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Jim;

Thank You for being a vendor that takes the time to work with the next generation of rocketeer! I think that it is wonderful that you spend your time, money and talent to mentor these kids.

I am sure that they are learning great skills, not only things that will benefit them through years of building and flying rockets, but an example of volunteerism and mentorship that last them a life time and hopefully instill those values in them so they can pass these on to future generations.

I know that there are many others out there thatare not vendors and do the same thing, and they get just as big of a pat on the back as you!
 
Jim;

Thank You for being a vendor that takes the time to work with the next generation of rocketeer! I think that it is wonderful that you spend your time, money and talent to mentor these kids.

I am sure that they are learning great skills, not only things that will benefit them through years of building and flying rockets, but an example of volunteerism and mentorship that last them a life time and hopefully instill those values in them so they can pass these on to future generations.

I know that there are many others out there thatare not vendors and do the same thing, and they get just as big of a pat on the back as you!

Thank you for your kind words, but I really need to set the records straight... :)

While I volunteered like this for over 20 years, once I started FlisKits I had to start charging for my time or I wouldn't have any time left to kit rockets... My rates aren't bad and my kids get to take advantage of additional discounts on kits and parts, but I don't want folks to think that I do this as a volunteer and then discover that I don't (man, THAT would be bad... LOL)

As for the Boys & Girls club, i've been employed as a teacher by them for about 7 years now (maybe 8). It started as just a rocketry session then branched out to the point where I was teaching 7-10 different subjects each week in 7-week programs. Now (due to budget cuts), we're back down to just rocketry sessions but hope to see some grants come in over the summer for next year.

The other thing is that my schedule allows me to do programs during the work day (such as school programs and camps) that many others simply can not do due to work schedules. This is also a big help to programs looking for someone to run them.

All in all, I have never enjoyed myself more than when I have a room full of kids wanting to learn something. It's doubly cool when I know how to teach it to'em :)

As for the volunteer work, I encourage EVERYONE to give it a try. Nothing is quite as rewarding. And, as I have said many, many times, the work you do you will remember for months, perhaps years. However, your KIDS will remember it for a lifetime... (having met many of my "kids", now adult, married and with children, I know this to be true :) )
 
Our April session has concluded. It was weird... We had five Friday's in April yet only had a 2 week session.... The first week was a part of last months session, I missed the 2nd Friday (out of town at Red Glare), and the last friday of the month falls at the end of Spring break... go figure LOL

So, we chose to use the two weeks to build with the intent of launching during May's session (seeing as everyone will be signing up again).

So the advanced group (4 kids) built the Pheord X150and the beginner group (2 kids) built the Bull's Eye

You can view the short photo album by following this link.

Enjoy! :)
 
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