Looking for Highschool Level Rocketry Competitions

[Ja3k_Frost]

Hello forum users,

I very much enjoy the nature of engineering challenges and am interested in real world competitive rocketry for upper class high school to college student level challenges. However I do not know where to start.

Some preliminary research done shows that the National Association of Rocketry has quite a few challenges in altitude, duration, and craftsmanship, but their site seems rather ambiguous on how their events are organized. The Team America Rocketry Challenge, which seems more high school oriented (Similar to FIRST robotics if you are familiar with that), however the deadline for that closed December 2nd. I would prefer something I can enter individually, as a senior in high school at this time in the year, the bureaucratic processes necessary to get the school linked with a challenge might take me past a potential signup deadline. So I am curious if anyone on these forums has experience with similar challenges and could point me in the right direction.

Beyond that, what is a good scope for any of my attempts. Should I go all out and try to mathematically optimize any submission as much as possible? Or should I go for a blend of style and effect? Or even more, should I try to create some new innovative way of tackling a suggested challenge?

Any input is helpful,

-Thanks

[Jonfliesgoats]

Great idea, and I am glad you are thinking about doing this with your students!  There is a lot of variability in highschool level rocketry lessons and what you can get out of them.

1.) How much time and how many events can you realistically schedule for your students?

Learn-design-test-learn-design-test is a cyclic process.  The testing events would be your students'opoortunites to fly.  

2.) What sort of budget would you like to operate on?  

You can do some decent rocket experiments on budgets from tens to over a thousand dollars with varying levels of student or student team involvement.

3.) What level students are you dealing with?  

High school science classes deal with students with wide disparities in capabilities.  You can use rocket events to get students in remedial reading to delve into reading instructions and executing them appropriately.  Kids in integrated STEM classes can also run a model acquisition process having teams design and build their own Rockets or rocket components to meet certain performance criteria you set.  Teams can break up and you can have them figure out what they need to do.  You can also experiment with sugar rockets.  So what constitutes an appropriate eventdepend upon your students.

4.) Finally, what sort of liability can you tolerate?  

Rockets involve heat, kinetic energy and some level of risk.  Making sugar rockets is a really, really good thing for kids.  Turning sugar and some other common ingredients into fuel for a homemade SRB excites highschool kids and shows them practical and spectacular application of theory they learn in class.  You also demonstrate how to control fuel reactive surface to prevent explosions.  There are risks involved.  Even Estes model rockets go relatively fast and can hurt kids.  Would you be able to have kids get their parents to sign waivers?

Highschool chemistry and physics is sort of a make or break experience for kids.  I grew up in a trailer-trash town, but had a chemistry teacher from Northwestern.  He wasn't shy about letting us play with some very small amounts of nitrogen triiodide for example.  I was already playing with airplanes and fireworks.  Having someone who wore a tie trust me with explosive stuff and nice things did a lot to let me know I could move beyond my small town.  

Edited December 22, 2016 by Jonfliesgoats
Formatting

[Jonfliesgoats]

Sugar rockets:

 

[Jonfliesgoats]

Acquisitions:

Set a goal, like fly a foam glider from an unassisted rocket launch.  (Use dowels inclined at roughly 20-30 degrees above the horizon for launch rails.  The plane needs to fly for at least 30 seconds after rocket burnout.  Use existing Estes engines (which come with decent publications regarding thrust and burn time) and set a materials and unit budget for your kids to work with.

Break your students into four person teams and have them go to work.  They'll learn they need to modify their planes significantly to get decent launches and will start cutting, epoxying and re enforcing their foam gliders.  The more design-evaluate-test cycles your teams can get, the better.

Team that designs the best glider (post-burn endurance) wins 25 dollars per student.  That gives them some incentive and will foster a little more inter-team competition.

You can adjust materials budgets (four C motors, one roll of foil, one roll of packing tape, cardboard, one tube(s) epoxy) and penalize you kids in the final competition appropriately if they have to get more materials from you.  

[Jonfliesgoats]

Basic science here.  Vinegar and baking soda:

https://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_companies/poof_slinky_inc/scientific_explorer_meteor_rocket.cfm?source=google_pla&kwid=SE032&gclid=CjwKEAiA7ejCBRDlp8uF6ezPnjoSJAAPED7M3CcKbsfiojnlUJ0y_dpKdwAW16UiC_AWK9fH1jr9XxoCMc_w_wcB

Kids in remedial reading classes can simply be given Estes rockets to build and fly according to instructions.

[Jonfliesgoats]

http://rocketcontest.org/

http://3384f12ld0l0tjlik1fcm68s.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/TARC-1-REV-17-2017-Rocket-Contest-Rules.pdf

here are contest rules and design requirements

[Jonfliesgoats]

Enrolling in the 2017 TARC looks like an option.  You may have missed the enrollment deadline, but your could probably email them to get your kids in. 

[Jonfliesgoats]

If you can't tell, I am eager to help.

Another thingnyou can get your kids working in is control.  There are a lot of hobby laser gyros with servos that can be mounted for attitude stabilization and control.  These are in the consumer-range for costs.  Projects like this would be for specialized clubs, like rocketry or science club rather than a general class. 

 

 

[Ja3k_Frost]

I greatly appreciate all the advice given, however there seems to be a simple misunderstanding in that I am the student.

I am looking for ways to compete against other students my age, who are so inclined to hold similar passions to myself.

18 hours ago, Jonfliesgoats said:

Enrolling in the 2017 TARC looks like an option.  You may have missed the enrollment deadline, but your could probably email them to get your kids in. 

If this is true, then I could get together a group of friends and a faculty member to maybe squeak in at the last moment.

 

20 hours ago, Jonfliesgoats said:

Great idea, and I am glad you are thinking about doing this with your students!  There is a lot of variability in highschool level rocketry lessons and what you can get out of them.

1.) How much time and how many events can you realistically schedule for your students?

Learn-design-test-learn-design-test is a cyclic process.  The testing events would be your students'opoortunites to fly.  

2.) What sort of budget would you like to operate on?  

You can do some decent rocket experiments on budgets from tens to over a thousand dollars with varying levels of student or student team involvement.

3.) What level students are you dealing with?  

High school science classes deal with students with wide disparities in capabilities.  You can use rocket events to get students in remedial reading to delve into reading instructions and executing them appropriately.  Kids in integrated STEM classes can also run a model acquisition process having teams design and build their own Rockets or rocket components to meet certain performance criteria you set.  Teams can break up and you can have them figure out what they need to do.  You can also experiment with sugar rockets.  So what constitutes an appropriate eventdepend upon your students.

4.) Finally, what sort of liability can you tolerate?  

Rockets involve heat, kinetic energy and some level of risk.  Making sugar rockets is a really, really good thing for kids.  Turning sugar and some other common ingredients into fuel for a homemade SRB excites highschool kids and shows them practical and spectacular application of theory they learn in class.  You also demonstrate how to control fuel reactive surface to prevent explosions.  There are risks involved.  Even Estes model rockets go relatively fast and can hurt kids.  Would you be able to have kids get their parents to sign waivers?

Highschool chemistry and physics is sort of a make or break experience for kids.  I grew up in a trailer-trash town, but had a chemistry teacher from Northwestern.  He wasn't shy about letting us play with some very small amounts of nitrogen triiodide for example.  I was already playing with airplanes and fireworks.  Having someone who wore a tie trust me with explosive stuff and nice things did a lot to let me know I could move beyond my small town.  

While I am the student in this (and all scenarios I guess) I can extrapolate out some of what applies to me here.

1) Event Scheduling- I am not sure, I would have to look at what each program brings in terms of deadlines, as for design, I have a pretty flexible schedule and could give around 10 hours a week.

2) Budget wise- Student level, think maybe $300. I suppose If I was involved with my school then they could cover the costs of anything necessary that goes over.

3) I like to think I have a fair amount of experience, comparatively to other Students at least. 4 years with Autodesk, Shop Skills, Time management and project planning.

4) I am not entirely sure how I can apply liability to my perspective.

Overall, this has been incredibly helpful, even if aimed at a teacher.

[Jonfliesgoats]

Gotcha!  In that case, I'd look to see if you can associate with local clubs.  Alternatives include getting some local sponsorship.  Schools all want press of starting something STEMwise in extracurricular activities.

Homestly, if you are willing to take the lead in establishing a school rocketry club, you could probably get funds or set up fund drives to be a little more ambitious.  You will need a plan to sell, though.  As an aside, leading an effort to successfully start a rocketry club and, say, compete at TARC, looks really good on university applications.

Are you passionate enough about the project to do that kind of leg work?  You will have people laugh at you.

If you set up a team for TARC trials, make sure your school name is involved.  If they say no, and I mean a hard no, there are alternatives.  

Edited December 23, 2016 by Jonfliesgoats

[Jonfliesgoats]

Columbine happened when I was in Highschool.  Immediately afterward, everyone was terrified of people who played with acetylene bombs, etc.  Regardless of what you do, you may want to let your school know if you are going to start building your own rocket engines.  Sadly, I saw small town rumor networks and fear from breathlesss news programs conspire to screw up some good kids who just like chemistry.

Local ladies and gents on the PTA rarely ask direct questions. They may give you some serious hassles as you are working on your homemade rocket projects.  Informing your school and locals about your intentions heads off these issues.

So be bold, but please also be prudent.  I am eager to see what progress you make!  Don't be shy about your failures either.