By David Boyce

 

The UKAYRoC competition is an opportunity for schoolchildren to take part in what has to be the most exciting application of science. The challenge is to build a rocket that will fly to 750ft for 45 seconds and carry two raw hens eggs the whole way without breaking them. 

 

For me this is the first time that I have been a rocket mentor and so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would it be like the schools rocket workshops that we have here at the University of Leicester or would it be more like our SEDs rockets club? The reality was it was like both of them and yet completely different to either. One of the hardest parts so far was, believe it or not, getting in contact with the right person at the school. Communication difficulties aside, yesterday (the ninth of January) we had our first session.

 

I packed up my car with everything rocket related I could find and dashed down the road to the school. We had arranged the session to be done as an after school club that I would attend but for the students they would also meet up at dinner times to put the work in. Upon approaching the school I caught sight of what could only be described as herds of children tearing through the school gates. An indication that it was both home time and that I was in the right place. As I slowly drove my car through the thronging crowd it reminded me somewhat of a whilderbeast scene from the Lion King.

 

Abandoning my car I set off on foot to find the reception. With military precision I was given a visitor’s badge and an invitation to sit down and wait. At that point it crossed my mind “what if the teacher has forgotten that I was coming?”. My fears were unfounded as a science teacher approached. She escorts me to my car to pick up the abandoned rocketry equipment and we make our way towards a science lab. Loitering outside are two eager students. It was then that I realized that I had met one of them before. “ You were at Space School UK!” I say. In fact my fondest memory of Space School UK involved this particular student’s endless interest. During the observing session this student kept us all awake until dawn asking questions about the universe.

 

We go inside and I begin my presentation. It starts with an introduction to the competition and is followed by what I call “The Link”. What is this link I hear you cry? Well, it’s relating what they are doing in the classroom to what they will be doing in ten years time. I showed them how rocketry links with their aspirations to work on space missions, or to be an astronaut.

 

I tell the teacher in private that model rocketry is not that dangerous when compared to activities like stateboarding but I tell her that I will explain it to the kids like it is the most dangerous hobby on earth. This is so they never relax or become complacent when working with rockets and at the same time it feeds that fourteen year old desire to be doing something dangerous.

 

The next part of the session I dedicate to some cool hands on experimentation. I get them building a small rockets kit and demonstrates to them the pyrotechnics. Held aloft by a clamp stand assembly an igniter is triggered to demonstrate what it does. Next a rocket engine is clamped and the assembly taken outside for test firing. I establish good button  pressing practice and get them to fire the engine. Suddenly everybody is thrilled and can’t wait to start building rockets. The small rocket kit is now complete and we take that outside to launch. By this point it has gone dark and as our rocket flies away into the night I comment “we’ll never see that again!”.

 

I lay down the challenge in front of them, what they have to build and on what time scale. The clock is ticking and we do not have long until qualifying flights need to be made. The kids respond to that challenge and suddenly have a look of steely determination on their faces. They no longer wants to take part in the competition, they want to win it!