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Program aims to help minoritiesAll eyes were trained on the rockets as they sat on launch pads on a softball field Thursday at the Illinois Institute of Technology.Cheers and whistles filled the air when the switches were flipped and the rockets soared skyward. Not nearly as loud - but still audible were the sighs of disappointment when the rockets refused to budge from the ground. Some 30 minority high school students from the city and suburbs played mission control commander Thursday during a model rocket-launching competition at IIT. The students learned how to make the rockets this summer in an intensive physics and math program designed for top science students entering 10th and 11th grade. The four-week program wraps up today. The Discovery Approach to Science Enhancement, or DASH, program started at IIT in 1991 and is designed for minority students interested in science. The program is funded by the National Science Foundation. On Thursday, students from the program teamed up to launch rockets they designed and built themselves, measuring their speed and maximum altitude as they flew. The goal was to build a rocket that would fly to exactly 60 meters, or nearly 200 feet, in the air before opening its parachute. The rocket that came closest to 60 meters was the winner. |
Jason Brown, 15, and a sophomore at Hillcrest High School in Country Club Hills, and his partner, Ryan Thompson, 16, and a junior at Maria High School in Chicago, won the competition when their rocket topped out at 59.91 meters.The contest was judged by teacher assistants who worked with the high schoolers during the program. The program included classroom work on physics and trigono metry along with a field study of physics at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. "The students learned about why roller coasters pick up speed at certain points of the ride and then slow down," said John Kallend, who works with the program and is the dean of the undergraduate college at IIT The bulk of the program, though, was devoted to the rockets. Tanisha Gaines and Lynnette Bell, both 15 and sophomores at Morgan Park High School in Chicago, worked as a team crafting their rocket. They stood together as their rocket was launched, hoping it would have a good takeoff. The rocket soared, through the air, climbing high until streamers, acting as a parachute, opened and the rocket sailed slowly to Earth. Jennice Turner, also a 15-year-old sophomore at Morgan Park, wasn't as lucky. "My rocket got bent and wasn't able to take off so I put it back in my bag. I'm really disappointed," she said. Adrian Faulkner, 15 and a sophomore at Maria, is interested in being a biochemist. She said the program was excellent and she learned a lot. "I've really enjoyed it. I have learned a lot about physics, but also learned the importance of good craftsmanship in building a rocket," said Faulkner, who lives in Riverdale. |
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