There’s a lot to think about when making a rocket.
It’s got to fly straight, and it’s got to fly far – especially if it’s going to make it into outer space.
About 850 fifth-graders from the Stockton Unified School District learned all about that while making their own rockets out of paper, scissors and tape before using a drinking straw to propel their creations across a gymnasium floor at the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE).
It was just one of the hands-on activities at the latest Science Blast, an event at the SJCOE in partnership with the Jose M. Hernandez Reaching for the Stars Foundation, named for the astronaut and local hero.
The Science Blast promotes STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education by crafting an exciting day out for students where fun and engaging learning is the goal.
David, a 10-year-old from Commodore Skills Elementary School, improved his rocket by testing it out and making some modifications. Fins made it fly straight, and a little extra tape gave it more weight to help it fly farther in later tests.
The science field trip was a lot of fun, he said. “I like it. You get to hear Jose Hernandez tell about his story, and you get to make rockets.”
One of the activities at Science Blast was a talk by Hernandez, a living example of just how far education, hard work and dreams can take a student.
It took Hernandez – himself a former Stockton Unified student – into space as an astronaut on the space shuttle Discovery. He encourages students to broaden their horizons.
“It’s not just enough to graduate high school and get your college education when you can reach for the stars,” he said.
Thousands of students have experienced Science Blast since the first one in 2009. All the students at the Sept. 18 event were from Stockton Unified. But for the first time, Tracy Unified School District will have its own Science Blast at the SJCOE on Sept. 25. About 450 students are expected.
The Science Blast experience is like a round robin of science activities as the fifth-graders go from one station to the next. They are not alone. They are guided along their way by teachers and parents, as well as students from high schools in their districts and from the University of the Pacific.
Each Science Blast is just one day, but the impact will last much longer.
In preparation for the event, teachers train with SJCOE. It can help them recreate more science activities back in their classrooms in the future, SJCOE STEM Director Kirk Brown said.
The impact of the Science Blast could be long lasting if the day is enough to awaken a love of science.
“One never knows. A single event or one inspirational person can trigger or motivate a child to go the next step,” Brown said. “Not everyone has someone at home to encourage them to pursue things like this. They need adults in their lives who will encourage them to pursue their dreams.”
And those dreams just might lead to the stars.