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- Jan 17, 2009
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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
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