On a cloudy Monday afternoon, students from Dunsmuir Middle School gathered at Allandale Pit to see something many had never witnessed before B次元官网网址� the launch of a rocket.

The Grade 7 students were not disappointed after the two G-motor rockets launched 2,500 and 3,000 feet into the air, reaching peak speeds of roughly 1,200 kilometres an hour, before eventually crashing down to the ground.

B次元官网网址淚t was very cool,B次元官网网址� said 12-year-old Paige Brahan after the launch. B次元官网网址淚 learned that making rockets is very hard, but itB次元官网网址檚 worth the time and all the building. It was amazing.B次元官网网址�

The launch was part of the middle schoolB次元官网网址檚 hands-on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Tech ed unit on the aerodynamics of flight.

For the last several weeks, 14 students started with the basics, learning about the theory of what goes on inside a rocket, and how propulsion, drag and lift works, among other things.

Next, students made individual rockets out of reinforced cardboard with a poxy coat, and learned how to sand and cut rocket fins to help it stay together during the launch.

According to teacher Jordan Whyte, who has been running the rocket launch part of the program for the past two years, the class is a great learning experience and teaches students the application of theory to design.

B次元官网网址淭hey applied their theory to an actual working model and then lit it off and saw their creations come to life, and I think making that jump between the theory and the hands-on application B次元官网网址� is absolutely critical,B次元官网网址� said Whyte, noting launching a rocket is not an activity many schools in the province offer.

B次元官网网址淭he more we do this, the more everything we do in the classroom starts making sense. Why do we do math? Why do we do science? ItB次元官网网址檚 so we can come into a room like a shop room and we can actually build something like that B次元官网网址� TheyB次元官网网址檒l never forget something like this.B次元官网网址�

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