Local 4-H Club members learn about science through rocketry

By Donathan Prater

Published: March 1, 2008

While it was a lot of fun, you might say it was a mission they scrambled to get off the ground.

This week the 4-H Rocket Club launched model egg rockets from the field of the Ham Wilson Building on Auburn University’s campus.

The Wednesday launch of about 10 carrier-style rockets by the LeeRR Club, marked the culmination of the group’s bi-monthly meetings since November 2007.

In earlier meetings, club members (about 18 to 20 area elementary, middle and homeschooled students) constructed and launched other kinds of rockets, including straw and water bottle rockets.

“The carrier rockets are equipped with specially-designed nose cones capable of safely lofting eggs placed inside them that were attached to small parachutes hundreds of feet into the sky,” said Dr. Tony Cook, an Extension 4-H specialist.

If all went well during the flight, the eggs inside the rocket’s nose cone would float back to the ground whole.

While most of the eggs appeared to be more scrambled after their brief rocket rides, it’s the lessons about science that Anwar Ahmed, who helped coordinate the club, hopes stay intact in the minds of the rocket club members.

“They may not fully realize it, but a fun activity like rocketry is teaching these kids a lot about the scientific laws of motion and physics,” Ahmed said.

The Rocket Club members had to pass a written science quiz before participating in the rocket launch and will complete another quiz on rocketry before moving on to a robotics course that will begin in the spring, according to Lee County Extension agent for 4-H and Youth Development Tara Barr.

Aleem Ahmed, 16, and his brother Azeem, 14, both LeeRR Club members also helped lead many of the rocketry classroom sessions leading up to this week’s launch and both think a hands-on approach to learning will help keep themselves and their colleagues interested in the fields of science and technology.

“If you were simply learning about the laws of motion and physics from a textbook, you might tend to forget about them after you’d taken the test,” said Aleem Ahmed. “This way will hopefully help us remember those lessons.”

Azeem agrees and feels programs like the 4-H’s Rocket Club are in keeping with the organization’s motto “Learning by Doing.”

“We gain experience by working with the other kids in the club and they learn by doing the things we learn in the group,” said Azeem.

The funding for 4-H Rocket Club was made available through a science, engineering and technology grant from the the state, according to Barr.

Of the state’s 67 counties, Lee County was one of eight selected to receive funding for their programs.