This issue’s club of the month is on the Rocket Club. The Rocket Club meets every Thursday at 3:30 pm in Room 182, aka the Tech-Ed room. The club is headed by Mr. Steele, the Tech-Ed teacher here at Falls Church.
So what is Rocket Club? As one the key leaders for Rocket Club, Anhtuan Nguyen (12), states, “The main goal of the club is to teach students about aerospace engineering and the principles of engineering in general, all while exposing them to a competitive atmosphere, as well as real world-esque situations.”
During the meeting, students work on building their model rocket in preparation for competition. This includes conducting research, sanding the rocket, and even 3D printing parts of the rocket. The club’s next match is the T.A.R.C. or Team America Rocket Challenge, at the end of April. The match is being held at the Great Meadow Field Event Center in Fauquier County. The goal of the match is to take two eggs in a respective team’s rocket into the lower atmosphere and return them back to the ground safely in a specific amount of time, with specific standards for power and energy in a team’s rocket. Currently the team is working on fundraising for the assembly and parts of the rocket and hopes to have it done by the beginning or middle part of March.
When asked about his favorite part of Rocket Club, Anhtuan states, “My favorite part is having a certain problem or issue that you are given, and being able to solve that given problem in a plethora of ways.” Also he adds, “You have to come up with certain reasoning as to why you should design your rocket one way or the other,
and it forces you to think about engineering and design in a brand new way and encourages creative thinking.”
So if you are looking for a club that encourages hands-on building, creative thinking, and that shoots off rockets, then Rocket Club is definitely for you.